Taiwan Says China Is Studying Lessons From Ukraine and Iran Wars as Military Purges Increase Uncertainty

China is adjusting its military training around lessons from two recent conflicts while tightening its grip on the waters and airspace surrounding Taiwan, according to Taiwan’s annual assessment of the Chinese military threat.

The report says the People’s Liberation Army is studying Ukraine’s extensive use of relatively cheap drones for reconnaissance and attacks. Taiwan’s Defence Ministry believes Chinese planners are examining how mass deployment of low-cost systems could change the way conventional forces operate.

The US-Israeli conflict with Iran has also become a subject of analysis. The report says the fighting highlighted rapid ammunition consumption, pressure on air-defense interceptors, the demands of industrial mobilization and weaknesses in alliance cooperation. It noted that the United States had to use expensive air-defense missiles to protect its bases from Iranian attacks, while a prolonged conflict raised concerns about weapons shortages.

Taiwan’s defence authorities say Chinese exercises near the island have increasingly focused on “joint blockade and control”, aimed at cutting outside maritime routes. The drills repeatedly involve not only military aircraft and warships but also coast guard vessels, which China could use to surround Taiwan and strengthen control around the Taiwan Strait.

The assessment says China does not yet possess enough capacity for a large-scale amphibious landing operation. It therefore expects an initial invasion strategy to focus on destroying Taiwan’s command-and-control systems and air defenses. At the same time, an unprecedented purge of senior Chinese military officers has made the region’s security environment more difficult to predict. He Weidong and Miao Hua were expelled from the party and military in 2025, while Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli came under investigation in January. China’s legislature later removed Zhang and Liu from their military posts, leaving only Xi Jinping and Zhang Shengmin in the seven-member Central Military Commission.

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The war highlighted rapid ammunition consumption, pressure on air-defense interception systems, industrial mobilization and the vulnerabilities of alliance cooperation.