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The Political Implications of the Military Exercises Around Taiwan
Military exercises around Taiwan that tarnish justice: The threat of Chinese imperialist aggression.
The Spark (Taiwan) 30 December 2025

In the last three days of 2025, the People's Liberation Army of China suddenly announced military exercises around the Taiwan Strait, including live-fire drills. This exercise, named "Mission of Justice-2025," is a blatant disrespect for the noble concept of justice. The justice they speak of is nothing more than a pretext used by Chinese imperialism to whitewash its own interests!

As revolutionary communists, we must point out that the actions of the Chinese government are of no benefit to the working class on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The US and Japanese imperialism, which is an indirect cause of the escalation of this conflict, and the Chinese imperialism, which is the direct cause, are engaged in a high-stakes gamble that sacrifices the interests of the East Asian proletariat.

Compared to previous military exercises around Taiwan, this exercise is more provocative and has indeed created regional military tensions [Note 1]. If we observe the political signals released by this action, we can find that it clearly emphasizes the exclusion of external interference, which can be seen as a response to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's "Taiwan emergency" statement earlier this year and the US$11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan [Note 2].

In addition, the Russian government announced that it would conduct military exercises in the disputed "Northern Territories" (Kuril Islands) north of Japan on New Year's Day, and stated that it would support the Chinese government in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait [Note 3]. This demonstrates the increasingly evident military confrontation in East Asia, with the Republic of China (Taiwan) caught in the middle, acting as a pawn for the US and Japan. If this strategic deployment truly materializes, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces will be constrained by the Russian military in the north in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, making it uncertain whether Japan would actually send troops to Taiwan. This highlights the political performance nature of Sanae Takaichi's remarks.

On the other hand, the People's Liberation Army's military exercises, which undermine stability across the Taiwan Strait, are also a political performance. Like Sanae Kaoichi's, they are a political performance by the Chinese ruling class towards its people, attempting to stabilize its ruling foundation and legitimacy as capitalist contradictions tend to erupt. We will elaborate on this below.

The Situation in China
First, within China's ruling class, the Xi Jinping government has been purging PLA generals since the middle of the year in order to address corruption within the PLA leadership and to rearrange strategic deployments. Many high-ranking generals have been replaced, disappeared from public view, or expelled from the Party, causing turmoil within the military and raising questions about whether the PLA still possesses the capability to launch an attack on Taiwan after this purge. Last week, Xi Jinping appointed Yang Zhibin as the new commander of the Eastern Theater Command [Note 4].

Yang Chih-pin comes from the Air Force, and the Eastern Theater Command is the main unit responsible for operations in the Taiwan Strait. This seems to indicate that Xi Jinping intends to make naval and air power a key development focus. This exercise may be seen as Yang Chih-pin's "three fires" to stabilize the military when he takes office.

Furthermore, and more fundamentally, is the accumulating social contradictions within China. This year has seen numerous protests, demonstrating the increasingly intense conflict between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. For example, in early summer, a wave of strikes occurred in China, with strikes taking place in Fujian, Sichuan, Henan, Guangdong, and other places [Note 5]. In August, a large-scale protest erupted in Jiangyou, Sichuan, due to the mishandling of a serious bullying case [Note 6]. In September, the Chinese government's attempt to alleviate financial pressure by forcing workers to pay social security contributions sparked widespread discontent [Note 7]. And now, we are witnessing a collective protest by delivery workers in Changsha [Note 8].

First, as a behemoth that continues to move forward, China has begun to decay and decline internally, and its social stability is not as high as it appears to the outside world. This, to some extent, forces the CCP's bureaucrats to take some risky political maneuvers in an attempt to stabilize the gradually out-of-control situation.

Secondly, the Chinese proletariat is attempting to ascend to the political stage. The demands and resistance driven by the need for livelihood and dignity will only continue to increase, confirming that the Chinese proletariat is gradually coalescing into a political force. This force demands the most basic necessity of maintaining workers' survival, a demand no different from that of Taiwanese laborers. Therefore, the united opposition of the proletariat on both sides of the Taiwan Strait against war is not merely empty talk or an ideal, but rather a very real and practical necessity.

Imperialism's High-Stakes Gamble and the Way Out for the Working Class
The Chinese government’s aggressive intentions are real and concrete, and it always uses “national rejuvenation” or “return to the motherland” as a pretext. However, we must emphasize that if China forcibly unifies Taiwan by force or forces it to surrender through war, it will lead to the most serious conflict between the proletariat on both sides of the strait, and will continue to allow nationalist euphoria to cover up class contradictions.

However, this does not mean that the United States or the pro-American ruling class in Taiwan are our allies. In fact, while the current escalation was triggered by China's military actions, the instigation by American imperialism behind this direct cause cannot be ignored. This is a conflict between imperialist powers and a high-stakes gamble, with both sides constantly testing each other's bottom line in order to consolidate their dwindling interests. But in this gamble, the stakes are tens of millions of lives, the vast majority of whom are working-class.

The working class in East Asia has not enjoyed any of the benefits brought by American or Chinese imperialism, yet they are always forced to sacrifice for its interests. Even worse, whether we in Taiwan or the working class in other countries, are now being forced to play a deadly game of Russian roulette. The only way to escape this deadly game is to recognize our shared interests and unite in a vigorous struggle against our respective bourgeois governments.

In a turbulent capitalist world, workers' demands for a stable life are, in effect, demands for a revolution. Let's rise up and take control of our own destiny, and unite as one!

"Spark" is the Taiwanese website of the Revolutionary Communist International (RCI). We are a revolutionary Marxist organization fighting for socialist revolutions around the world. If you agree with our ideals and are interested in joining us, please fill out the " Join Us " form, email marxist.tw@gmail.com, or send a private message to the " Spark - Taiwan Revolutionary Communism " Facebook page. Thank you!

Reference
[Note 1] "Ministry of National Defense: PLA's 5 training exercises intruding into Taiwan's territorial waters should be dealt with according to the rules of engagement," Central News Agency, https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aipl/202512290297.aspx

[Note 2] "Dissatisfied with record-high arms sales to Taiwan! China sanctions 20 US military-industrial companies, Washington responds," Commercial Times, https://www.ctee.com.tw/news/20251227700344-430801

[Note 3] "Russian military exercises in the 'Northern Territories' three days later; Russian Foreign Minister says he supports China if 'Taiwan is in trouble' two months later," United Daily News, https://www.google.com/.../news/amp/story/124693/9232211

[Note 4] "China to Conduct Live-Fire Military Exercises Around Taiwan," The New York Times Chinese website, https://cn.nytimes.com/.../china-taiwan-military.../zh-hant/

[Note 5] "A Brief Commentary on the Struggle in China – 2025: The Rise of Class Struggle in Early Summer," Curtick, https://marxist.tw/rise-of-class-struggle-in-summer-in-china/

[Note 6] "Jiangyou in Rebellion," by Curtis, https://marxist.tw/china-jiangyou-city-in-rebellion/

[Note 7] "China's Financial Dilemma," Bolshevik website, https://marxist.tw/china-finance-between-a-rock-and-a.../

[Note 8] "Changsha delivery workers stage a collective protest: for livelihood and dignity," Bolshevik website,

https://marxist.tw/2025-12-30/

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