Chinese naval presence around Taiwan reaches 1996 levels
Taiwanese authorities are raising concerns about the unprecedented presence of Chinese warships and coast guard units around the island. Defence Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang informed us that the scale of these operations has been the largest since 1996.
On Tuesday, Sun Li-fang stated that the number of Chinese naval units near Taiwan has surpassed that of the People's Liberation Army manoeuvres in 2022, which were a response to Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei.
The current scale is the largest compared to the previous four [exercises around Taiwan]. Regardless of whether they have announced drills, they are posing a great threat to us – the spokesman emphasised.
Sun pointed out that the ships are deployed along the first island chain, linking Okinawa Prefecture in Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. A senior security official informed the AFP agency that "nearly 90" Chinese units are currently in the waters of the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and the South China Sea.
Increased Chinese army activity near Taiwan
In a morning report, Taiwan's defence ministry stated that 47 Chinese aircraft and 12 warships were detected near the main island in the past 24 hours. This represents the highest level of Chinese military activity in the region in two months.
Although Beijing has not confirmed plans to conduct further manoeuvres, speculation has been growing since last week. At that time, Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te embarked on his first overseas trip to three Pacific island nations, maintaining diplomatic relations with Taipei. He also briefly stopped over in Guam and Hawaii, which prompted criticism from China. Beijing considers Taiwan an "inseparable" part of the PRC and calls President Lai a "separatist".
Lai and the Democratic Progressive Party have consistently emphasised that Taiwan and China "are not subordinate to each other" and that the future of the island can only be determined by the Taiwanese themselves. According to a November survey by the Taiwanese think tank IPST, 92% of residents consider Taiwan an independent country, and 77.5% believe it is not part of China.
