Beijing sent two aircraft carrier strike groups and numerous warships to the waters both north and south of Taiwan last month, as noted by a Taiwanese security official, amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan
From May 1 to May 27, around 70 Chinese vessels, including naval ships, were tracked from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea, according to a security official who requested anonymity. In recent years, China has intensified the deployment of warships and fighter jets around Taiwan, pressuring Taipei to recognise its claims of sovereignty over the island
China has not dismissed the possibility of using military force to bring Taiwan under its control, posing an ongoing threat of invasion to the island. “Their military activities and grey-zone operations have involved substantial deployments across the entire island chain, representing a strategy of comprehensive maximum pressure,” the security official indicated, as quoted by The Eurasian Times.
“On average, there have been between 50 to 70 naval and government vessels operating, along with hundreds of flights by different military aircraft, consistently engaging in harassment missions.” Some of the vessels travelled through the Miyako Strait into the Western Pacific Ocean for “long-range training, including integrated air-sea exercises,” the official added
On May 19, an additional 30 unnamed Chinese ships, lacking documentation or a port of registry, were spotted near Taiwan’s Penghu archipelago in the Taiwan Strait and had been “intentionally deployed to intimidate,” the official remarked. Taiwan’s defence ministry noted that a total of 75 Chinese aircraft participated in three “combat readiness patrols” near the island during the month
These actions by China were indicative of a “military expansion” effort aimed at controlling the “entire island chain and enhancing their capabilities,” the official stated. Since Lai assumed office, China has conducted several large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of Taiwan
