China deployed more than 100 naval and coast guard vessels across the western Pacific in early November in unannounced drills that senior officials in Taipei call a campaign of silent intimidation.
China Conducts Area Denial Drills
The operation involved coordinated forces from the Eastern, Northern, and Southern Theater Commands, according to a senior Taiwanese security official who spoke to Reuters. Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo said Chinese forces were conducting area denial exercises in the western Pacific to prevent outside intervention, using the Liaoning aircraft carrier group and other naval formations.
49 sorties of PLA aircraft, 6 PLAN vessels and 6 official ships operating around Taiwan detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 31 out of 49 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s central, southwestern and eastern part ADIZ. #ROCArmedForces have monitored the… pic.twitter.com/RORFMPYw1b
“The PLA is now shifting its focus to the Western Pacific, looking at how to stop US forces from coming in from that direction,” Shen Ming-shih, a research fellow at the Division of National Security Research under Taiwan's Institute for National Security, said.
“It is a silent exercise – and in effect, silent intimidation,” said a senior Taiwanese security official.
PLA Navy Amphibious assault ship #Type075 discerned leaving #YuchiNavalBase on 03 Nov 26:02:51:41 UTC. ~ 10 nm Southeast of harbor mouth.@Moochikal @MT_Anderson @MontyKhanna2308 @supbrow @TaiwanMonitor @NavyNews1109 @tom_bike @AndrewSErickson @AllSourceA @anshu217 @nuwangzi pic.twitter.com/Z7uiuuVsHI
The naval deployment exceeded the scale of China’s Justice Mission 2025 exercises held late last year. A Chinese submarine also launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from the Yellow Sea toward the Chinese mainland during the unannounced operations, according to Taiwanese security officials.
Taiwanese National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu said on November 3 that over 100 People’s Liberation Army Navy and China Coast Guard vessels were operating in the West Pacific. Joseph Wu released data showing two main vessel concentrations located between Taiwan and its principal partners, simulating isolation operations. The strike group moved to the West Pacific.
The #PRC is such a big bully. In addition to the high number of air sorties indicated earlier, the #PLAN & #CCG have also deployed 100+ vessels in the #WesternPacific as of now. #Taiwan is staying vigilant. We won’t provoke, but we won’t bow to any pressure. pic.twitter.com/gPOeDbz7mV
It traveled via the Basilan Strait in the Philippines between October 23 and 26, according to an assessment by the Institute for the Study of War and the American Enterprise Institute. A second concentration included at least six coast guard vessels and an unspecified number of naval ships surrounding Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence also detected extensive air activity during the monitoring window. It recorded 49 air sorties of Chinese aircraft on November 3 alone. These aircraft entered Taiwan’s southwestern Air Defense Identification Zone and crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, according to the ministry.
Nations Issue International Reactions
The foreign ministers of Canada, France, and Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States expressed serious concern about the situation in the Taiwan Strait. They said China’s increasingly assertive activity in the waters east of Taiwan threatens international shipping and maritime transport.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded to the joint declaration. Mao Ning said that China’s position on Taiwan is consistent, clear, justified, and above-board, while characterizing the G7 as an ideological group stuck in a Cold War mentality and bloc politics.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for peaceful development and eventual unification during an event marking the anniversary of Sun Yat-sen’s birth. Xi Jinping said that the complete reunification of the motherland must be realized. Chinese officials described the Liaoning carrier group’s activities as routine training not directed at any particular country, and China’s Defense Ministry did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
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