Taiwan says Chinese has deployed its largest naval fleet in nearly three decades to the waters around the island, describing the development as “very alarming”.
Taiwan’s defence ministry described what appeared to be the latest round of Chinese military exercises as a more significant threat than previous iterations, given the unprecedented scale of Beijing’s naval deployment.
Around 90 Chinese navy and coast guard ships were still in waters near near Taiwan as of Tuesday afternoon, a Taiwanese security source told Reuters.
China has issued no comment on why the vessels have been deployed. Beijing will often announce such military drills in advance.
The development came after Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te went on a diplomatic tour that included stops in the US.
Defence ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang, speaking in Taipei on Tuesday, stated that the current deployment spans from Japan’s southern islands to the South China Sea, marking the largest Chinese naval manoeuvre since 1996 military drills surrounding Taiwan’s presidential elections.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said 47 Chinese military aircraft operated near the island over the previous 24 hours, along with 12 navy vessels and nine civilian agency ships.
At least 26 aircraft were seen north of the island near China’s Zhejiang province, 15 flew around the southwest and six over the Taiwan Strait.
Mr Sun said: “Regardless of whether they have announced drills, they are posing a great threat to us. The current scale is the largest compared to the previous four.”
Chinese military activity was aimed at sending a message not only to Taiwan but also other countries in the region, a Taiwanese official told Reuters on Tuesday.
Another Taiwanese security official told the news agency that the aircraft were simulating attacks on foreign naval vessels and practising repelling civilian and military planes as part of a "blockade exercise”.
China had deployed ships from its northern, eastern and southern theatre commands, the official said.
Taiwan’s coast guard reported at least seven Chinese vessels conducting "grey zone harassment" throughout the day. The tactic, described as deliberate provocation short of conflict, includes regular military incursion by air and sea. Wang Ting-yu, head of Taiwan’s parliamentary defence and foreign affairs committee, called on Beijing to act as a “civilised neighbour” and cease its "troublemaking”.
The Taiwanese defence ministry activated combat readiness exercises and warned that unilateral provocations could destabilise peace in the region. “Such actions will not be welcomed by the international community,” it said.
China’s ongoing military activity coincides with its establishment of seven temporary no-fly zones near its eastern Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, prompting speculation about further drills or weapons testing. The restrictions are in place until Wednesday. However, Beijing has yet to announce any specific exercises and its defence ministry has not commented.
With no Chinese announcement describing the nature of the military activity, Taiwanese officials are describing it as a training exercise, said Taiwanese Lt Gen Hsieh Jih-sheng.
He added that “training” can develop into drills, and drills can become war.
“It’s in the status of regular training,” he said at a news conference. “But under the status of normalised training, it’s able to mobilise military forces on such a large scale and carry out exercises in such a large area.”
The US State Department, meanwhile, urged China to exercise restraint. "A routine transit by president Lai should not be used as a pretext for military pressure," a spokesperson said on Monday.
Western observers have expressed concern over the scale of the Chinese deployment, which a Taiwanese official claimed targeted the entire island chain stretching from Japan to Borneo. The move, they claimed, sought to “intimidate militarily” and exert control over critical waterways.
Beijing’s military posturing around Taiwan in recent years has raised fears of conflict in the region.
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin, addressing sailors in Japan, emphasised the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation and upholding the international “rules-based order”.
“And so we want to see this region, this area remain open to freedom of navigation and the ability to fly the skies and international airways whenever we want to,” he said.
China, which regards Taiwan as its territory, has denounced president Lai as a "separatist". Taiwan’s government maintains that its sovereignty is a matter for its people to decide.
Additional reporting by agencies
