A word war between China and the US has heated up anew over the war games that Beijing recently held around Taiwan.

The maritime drills had “unnecessarily” spiked tensions in the region, the US State Department said, calling on Beijing to “cease its military pressure.”

“China’s military activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan and others in the region increase tensions unnecessarily. We urge Beijing to exercise restraint, cease its military pressure against Taiwan, and instead engage in meaningful dialogue,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

Beijing launched missiles and deployed dozens of fighter jets, navy ships, and coast guard vessels on 29 and 30 December to encircle Taiwan, saying the drills simulated a blockade of the self-ruled island’s main ports.

Taipei condemned the exercises as “highly provocative.”

China claims that democratic Taiwan is part of its territory and has refused to rule out using force to annex it.

“The United States supports peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposes unilateral changes to the status quo, including by force or coercion,” Pigott said.

US President Donald Trump said Monday he was not concerned about China’s live-fire drills, appearing to brush aside the possibility of President Xi Jinping ordering an invasion.

“I have a great relationship with President Xi. And he hasn’t told me anything about it,” Trump told reporters when asked about the exercises.

“I don’t believe he’s going to be doing it,” Trump said in apparent reference to an invasion.

Beijing’s show of force followed the Trump administration’s approval of an $11-billion arms package for Taiwan.

The United States has been committed for decades to ensuring Taiwan’s self-defense, while remaining ambiguous on whether the US military would intervene in an invasion.

China’s latest exercises were the sixth major round of maneuvers since 2022, when a visit to Taiwan by then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi enraged Beijing.

Exercises ‘legitimate’

China defended the drills as “legitimate” and warned countries to “stop stirring up trouble on the Taiwan Strait issue.”

“We urge relevant countries and institutions to abide by the one-China principle strictly,” a Chinese defense ministry spokesman said in a statement responding to calls for restraint, including from the United States.

China’s Ministry of National Defense said the recent large-scale exercise around Taiwan was intended to deter “Taiwan independence” forces and foreign interference, pushing back against criticism from several Western governments that the drills undermined regional stability.

Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command successfully conducted the exercise, dubbed Justice Mission 2025, to test integrated joint combat capabilities and demonstrate the military’s readiness to counter separatist activities and outside intervention.

“The exercise clearly shows that any provocative act crossing red lines on the Taiwan question will be met with resolute countermeasures,” Zhang said in a statement responding to media queries, adding that attempts to obstruct China’s reunification “will never succeed.”

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te has said the drills increased uncertainty and risk in the region. 

The United States, Japan, Australia, the Philippines, and the European Union have also expressed concern, calling on Beijing to exercise restraint and opposing unilateral efforts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.

Zhang rejected those criticisms, reiterating that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and that the Taiwan question is purely an internal matter that allows no foreign interference. He said the PLA’s actions around the island were “completely legitimate, necessary and beyond reproach.”