Taiwan’s Defense Ministry announced Tuesday that China has deployed its largest regional maritime force in decades, triggering heightened tensions in the Taiwan Strait and Western Pacific, CNN reports.
The deployment follows Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s recent unofficial stops in Hawaii and Guam, which angered Beijing.
The ministry reported a significant surge in Chinese naval and coast guard vessels operating around Taiwan and extending beyond the first island chain, a strategically important archipelago encompassing Japan, Taiwan, parts of the Philippines, and Indonesia. Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-Sheng, deputy chief of the General Staff for Intelligence, described the number of Chinese vessels as “astonishing,” suggesting a capability to potentially block outside forces from accessing the region.
This deployment, according to the ministry, surpasses the scale of previous large-scale Chinese military exercises around Taiwan, which began in the mid-1990s. The PLA Navy’s activities extend well beyond Taiwan, raising concerns about China’s growing regional power projection. The ministry also reported detecting 47 PLA aircraft operating around the island in the 24 hours prior to Tuesday morning. Seven designated airspace reservation zones east of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces have been identified, though live-fire exercises haven’t yet been reported.
Beijing has not officially acknowledged the large-scale deployment or announced any military drills, despite Taiwan’s heightened alert. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and views any unofficial interactions between Taiwan and the US as a provocation.
President Lai’s visit to the US, his first since assuming office in May, included stops in Hawaii and Guam, where he emphasized solidarity with like-minded democracies. This trip, coming after the US approved new arms sales to Taiwan, prompted strong condemnation from China, which vowed “strong countermeasures.”
The current deployment differs from previous Chinese military exercises, such as the “Joint Sword-2024A” and “Joint Sword-2024B” drills conducted earlier this year in response to President Lai’s statements on Taiwan’s sovereignty. A senior Taiwanese official described the current situation as broader in scope.
When questioned about the military activities, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning reiterated China’s stance that the Taiwan issue is an internal matter and that China will defend its sovereignty.
