Why is the Chinese military deployment around Taiwan the largest in years?
| Beijing and Taipei
China said on Dec. 11 it takes 鈥渘ecessary measures鈥� to defend the country鈥檚 sovereignty and will not tolerate 鈥渟eparatist鈥� activities, as Taiwan reported another rise in Chinese warplanes around the island and called on Beijing to halt provocations.
Beijing鈥檚 military has yet to comment on the military activity and has not confirmed it is carrying out exercises.
A senior Taiwanese official said they believed the surge in activity was meant to send a political message to the incoming administration of United States President-elect Donald Trump.
A security diplomat in the region briefed on the matter told Reuters the scale and size of the ongoing Chinese operations, including the manpower being dispatched, was 鈥渦nheard of鈥� in recent years.
鈥淲e have not seen anything like this in at least the past few years,鈥� they said, citing their country鈥檚 assessment while declining to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, had been expected to launch drills to express its anger at President Lai Ching-te鈥檚 tour of the Pacific that ended on Dec. 6 and included stopovers in Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam.
鈥淲e will absolutely not let things go unchecked. We take necessary measures to resolutely defend the country鈥檚 sovereignty and territorial integrity,鈥� Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for China鈥檚 Taiwan Affairs Office said when asked about the increased military activities.
China鈥檚 government was 鈥渉ighly vigilant to the trend of separatist Taiwan forces colluding with external forces,鈥� she said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.
Taiwan鈥檚 defense ministry said on Dec. 11 it had detected 53 military aircraft operating around the island over the past 24 hours, as well as 11 navy vessels and eight 鈥渙fficial鈥� ships, which refers to vessels from ostensibly civilian agencies such as the coast guard.
鈥淧rovocative acts鈥�
Mr. Lai and his government reject Beijing鈥檚 sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan鈥檚 people can decide their future.
Presidential office spokesperson Karen Kuo said in a statement that China鈥檚 military actions were a 鈥渂latant disruption鈥� of regional stability and Beijing should immediately stop all 鈥減rovocative acts.鈥�
It is customary for Taiwan presidents to go overseas and 鈥淭aiwan鈥檚 normal international exchanges with other countries are not an excuse for China鈥檚 provocations,鈥� she added.
Taiwan鈥檚 military had gone on alert on Dec. 9 after saying China had reserved airspace and deployed naval and coast guard vessels.
On Dec. 10, Taipei鈥檚 defense ministry said China was deploying its largest navy fleet in regional waters in nearly three decades, posing a threat to Taiwan that is more pronounced than previous Chinese war games.
However, a U.S. military official said China鈥檚 naval deployments in the East China Sea and South China Sea were elevated but consistent with other large exercises in the past.
A senior Taiwan security official, offering the government鈥檚 assessment of China鈥檚 activities, told a briefing in Taipei it took China鈥檚 military nearly 70 days to plan and deploy the current sea operations and that they were meant for the incoming Trump government and U.S. allies, rather than specifically Mr. Lai鈥檚 visit to the Pacific.
鈥淭hey are trying to draw a red line and exert authority for the new master of the White House,鈥� said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
It was 鈥渆xtremely rare鈥� for China to deploy sea operations of such scale at this time of the year when sea conditions are usually rough, the official said.
Taiwan鈥檚 government believes China鈥檚 decision not to announce the drills could be because Beijing is trying to minimize the impact on two major events with Taiwanese businessmen and politicians, one taking place this week and another next week, the official added.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a carrot and stick approach,鈥� the official said, pointing to Beijing鈥檚 annual charm offensive programs towards Taiwan, including a visit to Taipei by one of Shanghai鈥檚 deputy mayors next week.
This story was reported by Reuters.
