Will China use force against Taiwan?

Inside StoryBeijing has carried out its biggest-ever military drills off the self-governed island.China has launched more rockets as it continues its huge live-fire exercises off Taiwan.The drills, which Beijing named “Justice Mission 2025”, are widely seen as a show of force as China seeks to assert its claim that Taiwan is part of its sovereign territory.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Eurostar suspends all Europe trains over power issue during holiday travellist 2 of 3US issues Iran-Venezuela sanctions over alleged drone tradelist 3 of 3How has Trump’s second term transformed the US Justice Department in 2025?end of listThe military manoeuvres come on the heels of an $11bn arms deal between the United States and Taiwan. Although the US was not mentioned, Beijing called the exercises a “stern warning” to “external forces”.Can these tensions be contained?Presenter: Adrian FinighanGuests:Shaun Rein – founder and managing director of the China Market Research GroupChen Shen Yen – research fellow at the Institute of International RelationsJa Lan Chong – associate professor of political science at the National University of SingaporePublished On 30 Dec 2025