Taiwan on edge as China's largest naval presence since '96 looms
The Taiwanese authorities are raising concerns about an unprecedented presence of Chinese warships and coast guard units around the island. Defense Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang reported that the scale of activities is the largest since 1996.
On Tuesday, Sun Li-fang mentioned that the number of Chinese naval units near Taiwan had surpassed those during the Chinese People's Liberation Army maneuvers in 2022, which were in response to Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei.
The current scale of these exercises is the largest compared to the previous four large-scale maneuvers. Regardless of whether Beijing announced these exercises or not, it poses a huge threat to us, emphasized the spokesperson.
Sun highlighted that the ships are deployed along the so-called first island chain, connecting Okinawa Prefecture in Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines. A high-ranking security official informed AFP that there are currently "almost 90" Chinese units in the waters of the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and the South China Sea.
Increased movement of the Chinese army near Taiwan
In a morning report, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense stated that 47 Chinese aircraft and 12 military ships were detected near the main island within the last 24 hours. This is the largest Chinese military activity in the region in two months.
Although Beijing has not confirmed plans for further maneuvers, speculation has grown since last week. At that time, Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te embarked on his first foreign trip to three Pacific island countries, maintaining diplomatic relations with Taipei. He also made brief stops in Guam and Hawaii, which drew criticism from China. Beijing considers Taiwan an "inseparable" part of the PRC and labels President Lai as a "separatist."
Lai and the Democratic Progressive Party have repeatedly stressed that Taiwan and China are "not subordinate to each other " and that only the Taiwanese can decide the island's future. According to a November study by the Taiwanese think tank IPST, 92% of residents consider Taiwan an independent country, and 77.5% believe it does not belong to China.
