US urges China to halt military pressure on Taiwan after drills

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January 2, 2026 | 1:00pm

MANILA, Philippines — The United States has called on China to back off from conducting any more military drills around Taiwan and engage in dialogue instead, following Beijing's live-fire exercises around the self-ruled island that concluded earlier this week. 

Washington said in a statement on Thursday, January 1, that China's drills around Taiwan increased tensions unnecessarily in the region.

The Philippines, particularly the Department of National Defense, earlier joined other countries, including Japan and Australia, in condemning the exercises. The DND in particular had described Beijing's drills as a "heightened scale of coercion" that affected the entire Indo-Pacific region.

"China's military activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan and others in the region increase tensions unnecessarily," Thomas Pigott, principal deputy spokesperson of the US Department of State, said in a statement.

"We urge Beijing to exercise restraint, cease its military pressure against Taiwan, and instead engage in meaningful dialogue."

China declared it had "successfully completed" military drills around Taiwan on December 29 and 30. Beijing launched missiles and deployed dozens of fighter jets, navy ships and coastguard vessels around Taiwan's main island in exercises that simulated a blockade of key ports and assaults on maritime targets.

Taiwan condemned the war games as "highly provocative and reckless" and said they failed to impose a blockade.

Regional condemnation

Japan and Australia — among the countries the Philippines relies on security-wise, besides the US, in deterring China's aggression in the South China Sea — also criticized the exercises. 

Japan said that China's military drills "increase tensions" across the Taiwan Strait and that it had expressed its concerns to Beijing. Australia's foreign ministry condemned the "destabilising" drills, saying it had also raised concerns with its Beijing counterparts.

But Beijing dismissed the criticism as "irresponsible."

"These countries and institutions are turning a blind eye to the separatist forces in Taiwan attempting to achieve independence through military means," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a news briefing Wednesday.

Why this matters to Philippines

For the Philippines, any conflict across the Taiwan Strait poses direct security and humanitarian risks.

Manila's National Security Policy for 2023 to 2028 identified a possible Taiwan conflict as a potential flashpoint due to the Philippines' proximity to the island, which could not only affect Filipinos in Taiwan but also lead to an influx of refugees.

There are around 250,000 overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan, according to government estimates.

Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. in April directed troops in Northern Luzon to prepare for a possible Taiwan invasion, saying the Philippines would "inevitably" be involved in such a conflict. He later clarified this pertained to possibly having to rescue throngs of overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in August last year warned the Philippines would be dragged "kicking and screaming" into any confrontation over Taiwan, which lies less than 200 kilometers from the Philippines' northernmost islands in Batanes.

The military in the same activated a forward operating base in Mahatao, Batanes — just 120 miles south of Taiwan — to boost territorial defense and enhance humanitarian assistance and disaster response capabilities in the northern frontier.

Under Marcos, the Philippines has also allowed the US to station forces in military bases close to Taiwan under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, drawing backlash and warnings from Beijing.