Overview
- Satellite tracking and reporting show roll-on/roll-off ferries, including Bohai Ferry vessels, redeployed toward Fujian and integrated into summer amphibious exercises.
- The Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency has assessed, as reported publicly, that China could field more than 70 modified large ferries by 2026 to move troops and equipment.
- Taiwan’s defense ministry detected 30 Chinese military aircraft and seven navy ships in a 24‑hour period, with maps also showing up to three drones flying near Japan’s nearby islands.
- China’s third aircraft carrier, Fujian, featuring electromagnetic catapults, has been commissioned and conducted recent sea trials and transits, with Xi Jinping boarding the ship in early November.
- Beijing publicly reiterated it will not rule out force over Taiwan, while Taipei’s defense chief says the island closely monitors civilian ferry use and has prepared contingency plans.