Taiwan says China deploys largest naval fleet in decades
Photo: Taiwan is concerned about China's largest military drills in 30 years (Getty Images)
China has deployed its largest naval fleet in regional waters in nearly three decades, posing a more serious threat to Taiwan than previous military activities by Beijing, reports Reuters.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense spokesman, Sun Li-fang, stated during a press conference on Tuesday that the current scale of China's naval deployment, stretching from the southern Japanese islands to the South China Sea, is the largest since Beijing conducted military drills around Taiwan ahead of the 1996 presidential elections.
Chinese military officials have yet to comment or confirm whether they are conducting any drills.
China's launch of such drills was expected and responded to President Lai Ching-te’s recent Pacific tour, which concluded on Friday and included stops in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam.
Taiwan’s military was placed on high alert on Monday, December 9, following reports that China had reserved airspace and deployed naval ships, including the coast guard.
“The current scale is the largest compared to the previous four. Regardless of whether they have announced drills, they are posing a great threat to us,” said Sun.
A senior intelligence officer at the Ministry of Defense, Hsieh Jih-sheng, revealed that there had been no live-fire drills in the seven “reserved” Chinese airspace zones, two of which are located in the Taiwan Strait. However, significant Chinese activity has been observed to the north of Taiwan in the past 24 hours.
A Reuters source within Taiwan's security services noted that the number of Chinese naval and coast guard vessels in the region remains around 90, which is causing great concern. The source also added that China is targeting other countries in the region, not just Taiwan.
China’s deployment in the First Island Chain, which stretches from Japan through Taiwan, the Philippines, and further to Borneo (known as Kalimantan, the world’s third-largest island, divided between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei), aims to secure Chinese coastal waters and prevent foreign interference, said Hsieh
Internal sea
The Ministry of Defense also noted that China’s navy is building two “walls” in the Pacific: one at the eastern end of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone and another further into the Pacific.
"They are sending a very simple message with these two walls: trying to make the Taiwan Strait an internal sea" of China, said Hsieh.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense detected 47 military aircraft flying around the island in the past 24 hours, along with 12 naval ships and nine “official” ships, which are presumed to be ships from civilian agencies such as the Coast Guard.
According to a map provided by the ministry in its daily morning report on Chinese activity, 26 aircraft flew over the area north of Taiwan near the coast of China’s Zhejiang province, six flew over the Taiwan Strait, and 15 flew southwest of the island.
A senior Taiwanese security source told Reuters that Chinese aircraft simulated attacks on foreign warships and practiced shooting down military and civilian aircraft as part of a “blockade exercise.”
Taiwan-China standoff
China considers Taiwan part of its territory and refers to the island’s government as separatist, while Taiwan maintains itself as a sovereign state.
In October, Chinese President Xi Jinping called Taiwan an inseparable part of China.
Later that month, China launched military drills in the Taiwan Strait off Taiwan’s coast.
A few days after that, President Xi called for an acceleration of military preparations for war.
Beijing also strongly reacted to the large US military aid package for Taiwan.
