Author: Esther Webber

The end of 2025 came with yet another demonstration of Beijing’s desire to operationalize the encirclement of Taiwan: the “Justice Mission 2025” (正義使命 2025) exercise. There were several notable aspects of Justice Mission, including more and larger designated exercise zones, the deployment of the PLA Navy and China Coast Guard closer to Taiwan, and the publicized deployment of the Type 075 landing helicopter dock (LHD) vessel with Z-8/Z-20 helicopters on Taiwan’s east coast (implying a capability to conduct special forces raids). PLA Air Force sorties were also notably high in number, displaying unprofessional maneuvering and disrupting civil aviation.Read More

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In stark contrast to the discourse in the United States, there have been very few open conversations between Europe and Taiwan regarding defense spending or arms acquisitions. While the United States is actively exerting pressure on Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan (立法院) to pass a national defense budget that will incorporate a USD 11.1 billion arms package, European countries have retained a cautious, low-profile stance on the matter. This is likely due to the diplomatic and economic pressure that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has historically exerted on Europe’s middle powers. For example, in the 1980s, the PRC downgraded diplomatic relations…

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