Taiwan warns of rise in Chinese military activity around region
This image released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defence shows China's Shandong aircraft carrier sailing near Taiwan on March 31. - Taiwan Ministry of National Defence/AP
TAIPEI: Taiwan said China escalated military pressure around the region in May, deploying dozens of warships and government vessels daily in what it described as an extreme pressure campaign.
China sent an average of 50 to 70 vessels per day across the first island chain - a key strategic arc stretching from Japan through Taiwan and the Philippines - between May 1 and 27, said a senior Taiwanese security official, who asked not to be identified, citing government protocol.
The official, who spoke at a briefing on Thursday (May 29), called it a record high for May, though did not provide comparable figures from last year. A document shared at the briefing showed the scale and range of the deployments stretching from the Yellow Sea to the East and South China Seas.
Tensions have steadily risen since President Lai Ching-te took office in May last year. Beijing, which views the democratic island as part of its territory, has called Lai a separatist and carried out at least seven sets of military drills around the island since his inauguration, a pace not seen in previous years.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday urged partners in Asia to raise defense spending toward five per cent of gross domestic product, warning that more urgency is needed to prepare for a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
Chinese activity peaked around May 27, when more than 70 vessels - mostly naval - were observed operating in the region, according to the Taipei official. Two aircraft carriers, the Shandong and Liaoning, took part in the activities last month, with the Liaoning conducting takeoff and landing drills for warplanes in the East China Sea for the first time, the official said.
Chinese patrols also appeared to press closer to Taiwan's 24-nautical mile boundary during joint combat exercises, which the Taipei official said go far beyond Beijing's defense needs.
Separate data from Taiwan's Defence Ministry shows around 254 Chinese warships and government vessels were spotted around the archipelago over May 1-27, averaging nine a day, according to Bloomberg calculations. That's slightly up from an average of seven a day last year, the data shows. - Bloomberg
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