Taiwan remained on high alert on Wednesday even as Chinese ships began pulling away following massive military drills around the island.

Authorities said emergency response centres remain operational amid uncertainty over Beijing’s next move.

Taiwan’s coast guard said Chinese naval activity near the island had eased, with ships gradually departing the area. However, China has not formally announced the conclusion of the drills, prompting Taiwan to keep its emergency maritime response centre running.

Kuan Bi-ling, head of Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, said the situation had calmed but vigilance remained necessary due to the lack of an official declaration from Beijing.

A senior coast guard official told Reuters that all 11 Chinese coast guard vessels had left waters near Taiwan and were continuing to move away. Taiwan’s military and coast guard emergency response centres, however, remained fully active as a precaution.

Inside China’s ‘Justice Mission 2025’ drills

The drills, named “Justice Mission 2025,” involved dozens of rockets fired towards Taiwan and the deployment of large numbers of warships and military aircraft around the island. Western allies voiced concern over the scale and intensity of the exercises.

Taiwan condemned the drills as a blatant provocation and a serious threat to regional security.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said that in the past 24 hours alone, 77 Chinese military aircraft and 25 navy and coast guard vessels had operated around the island. Of those aircraft, 35 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, which unofficially separates Taiwan and China.

Regional and international response

As the drills unfolded, ambassadors from the Quad nations — the United States, Australia, Japan, and India — met in Beijing on Tuesday. U.S. Ambassador David Perdue described the Quad as a “force for good” working to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific.

No further details of the meeting were disclosed, and the U.S. embassy did not immediately comment.

The exercises forced Taiwan to cancel dozens of domestic flights and deploy jets and warships to monitor Chinese movements. Soldiers were also seen conducting rapid-response drills, including setting up barricades at various locations.

China calls drills a ‘stern warning’

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said the drills were a “necessary and just measure” to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Spokesperson Zhang Han described them as a stern warning to Taiwan independence forces and what Beijing calls external interference.

China’s state news agency Xinhua said the drills demonstrated the People’s Liberation Army’s ability to encircle Taiwan and block outside support.

The drills began 11 days after the United States announced a record $11.1 billion arms package for Taiwan. Chinese officials framed the exercises as a direct response to that move.