Following Beijing’s outrage at President Lai Ching-te’s recent visit to the United States, Taipei said on Tuesday that China is sending dozens of ships in its largest naval mobilization surrounding Taiwan in years.
Following Lai’s US stopovers and call with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Taiwanese military was on high alert in case Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) staged war games.
According to Taiwan’s defense ministry, the quantity of Chinese vessels in the island’s surrounding waters surpassed Beijing’s maritime response to the biggest-ever war games, which took place in 2022 during then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei.
The exercises, which showed how far China’s military had advanced since the previous Taiwan Strait crisis in the mid-1990s, saw Beijing deploying ballistic missiles, fighter aircraft, and warships in what analysts characterized as preparation for a blockade and eventual invasion of Taiwan.
According to a senior Taiwanese security official, there were currently close to 90 Chinese coast guard and naval vessels in the waters surrounding the so-called first island chain, which connects Okinawa, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
That was the most aircraft found in a single day since a record 153 were found on October 15, following China’s large-scale military exercises inresponse to Lai’s National Day speech days earlier.
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