Overview
- Taiwan says Chinese naval forces are conducting operations across hundreds of kilometers from the Yellow Sea through the East and South China Seas into the western Pacific, and it is closely monitoring the activity.
- Beijing did not preannounce the deployments and says the maneuvers comply with international law, are not directed at any country, and should not trigger what it calls overreactions.
- Reuters-based reporting describes the concentration as unprecedented, with some units conducting simulated attacks and anti-access/area-denial drills seen as testing neighbors’ responses.
- Taiwan’s National Security Bureau reports four Chinese naval units operating in the western Pacific and notes an uptick in deployments since mid-November.
- The operation follows diplomatic friction after Japan’s Sanae Takaichi discussed a potential response to a Taiwan conflict and Taiwan advanced a $40 billion defense package, against the backdrop of China’s expanding fleet and the commissioning of the carrier Fujian.