The military exercises serve as legitimate defense of national sovereignty against dangerous external interference. US arms sales totaling $11.1 billion directly violate the one-China policy and embolden separatist forces. These drills demonstrate justified resolve to prevent Taiwan from becoming a flashpoint through American provocation.

China just changed the game, and nobody noticed. Beijing's latest exercises were not directed at Taipei, but at deterring external military intervention. For the first time, PLA doctrine explicitly signals Japan. The drills will end routinely; the strategic shift will endure, altering Indo-Pacific calculations permanently after decades of strategic ambiguity collapse.