A high alert was maintained in Taiwan on 31st December following the large-scale military exercises that it witnessed around the island the day before, with its emergency maritime response centre operational, as it continued to monitor the activities of China’s naval forces, the coast guard said.

The drills titled Justice Mission 2025 were characterized by China shooting dozens of rockets at Taiwan and positioning a significant number of warships and aircraft near the island in a demonstration of power that raised the apprehensions of allies in the region and the West.

Towards the end of the day on Wednesday, Beijing declared that the exercises were made complete, and their military would be on the highest alert and further enhancing their combat-readiness.

In response, the Taiwan defence ministry responded that since it had a large number of Chinese aircraft and vessels in its response zone, it would have an adequate contingency system. It did not elaborate.

It has previously been stated that the aggressive and militaristic provocations by the Chinese Communist Party threaten regional security and stability and are condemned by the democratic allies of the international community.

The President of China, Xi Jinping, used a similar note when speaking during his New Year address soon after the announcement by Beijing, when he renewed his warning about what he considers to be forces that want Taiwan to be independent.

In a talk aired by state-run television CCTV, he said: “compatriots across the Taiwan Strait are linked together with blood stronger than water, and the historical trend towards national reunification cannot be stopped.”

China alleges that the democratically ruled Taiwan is part of the Chinese territory and it has never dismissed the use of force to annex Taiwanese territory to the Chinese rule. Taiwan, which denies the Chinese claims, criticized the recent exercises as a danger to regional security as well as an outright provocation.

By Tuesday night, Chinese vessels were leaving Taiwan with Kuan Bi-ling, the head of the Taiwan Ocean Affairs Council.

She posted a message on Facebook at the end of Tuesday that the maritime situation had subsided, and ships and vessels had been sailing out gradually.

According to Reuters, a Taiwan coast guard official said that all 11 Chinese coast guard vessels had already left Taiwan waters and were heading away. An official of the Taiwan security said the military and coast guard emergency response centres were on alert.

The number of Chinese navy and coast guard vessels in the area was over 90, most of which were stationed in the South China Sea, off Taiwan, and the East China Sea, two security officials in the area had told Reuters earlier.

According to the officials who refused to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, the size of the maritime deployment in China had continued to increase at the start of this week.

China is going through a phase of military exercises that has become a busy one.

On Wednesday, the Taiwan defence ministry indicated that 77 Chinese military planes had been flying off the island in the last 24 hours, besides 25 ships of the navy and the coast guard.

It added that 35 military aircraft had flown above the Taiwan Strait median line that divides the two sides.