China’s two-day live-fire exercise around Taiwan did not block access to the island’s main ports but delayed ship arrival and departure nonetheless, according to Taiwan media reports.

The Chinese exercise dubbed “Justice Mission 2025” ended at 6 p.m. local time on 30 December 2025.

“Maritime analysts describe a spike in ETA volatility as ships slow down, wait outside the affected areas during the announced live-‘fire window (around 08:00 to 18:00 local in some zones), and then bunch arrivals afterward, increasing schedule disruption and the risk of missed berthing windows,” Ship Universe reported on Tuesday.

“Insurers and operators are treating the Strait as a higher-risk corridor during the drills, prompting more conservative routing and possible knock — on delays for feeder services and regional rotations, even though there is no formal closure of sea lanes,” it added.

Focus Taiwan identified the live-fire zones as in waters north of the northern Taiwan port city of Keelung, in the eastern coastal approaches or east of Taitung County, south of Pingtung County near Taiwan’s southern tip, in waters around the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait and sea areas off northwestern Taiwan.

Local fishermen’s associations reported that many fishing operations have been curtailed to avoid the live-fire areas, causing short-term economic losses in coastal communities, according to ABC News.

Flights to and from Taiwan were also disrupted, according to local reports.

Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration reports that hundreds of flights in and out of the Taipei Flight Information Region have been delayed or canceled due to the exercise zones overlapping with civilian air routes, Channel News Asia said.