China launches war games around Taiwan as island vows to defend democracy

China’s military moved army, naval, air force and artillery units around Taiwan on Monday for its “Justice Mission 2025” drills, as the island vowed to defend democracy and ‍mobilized troops to rehearse repelling a potential Chinese attack.The Eastern Theatre Command announced the drills will involve live-fire exercises on Tuesday, in a statement containing a graphic demarcating five zones surrounding the island that will be under sea and air space restrictions for 10 hours from 8 a.m. (0000 GMT).For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.This marks China’s sixth major round of war games since 2022 after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the democratically governed island, and follows a rise in Chinese rhetoric over Beijing’s territorial claims after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo. The exercises began 11 days after the US announced