Taiwan Security Officials Say on November 13 That China Staged a Large Unannounced Exercise Across the Western Pacific in Early November: More Than 100 Vessels Were Massed at One Point, About 70 Remain Inside the First Island Chain on Friday, and China's Defence Ministry Did Not Respond to a Request for Comment
TAIPEI — China carried out a large, unannounced military exercise across the western Pacific and around Taiwan in early November, Reuters reported on Friday, November 13, in what officials in Taipei described as a campaign of silent intimidation aimed at pressuring Taiwan and other governments before major international meetings.
A senior Taiwan security official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said China's military and coast guard had at one point massed more than 100 vessels in the region early this month, conducting drills that included simulated attacks on other militaries and cities including Taiwan's. The naval deployment was larger than Justice Mission 2025, China's last formally named drills targeting Taiwan nearly a year ago, and one of the largest Chinese naval deployments to date, the official said. During the latest drills, a Chinese submarine also launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from the Yellow Sea into the Chinese mainland, the official said.
It is a silent exercise, and in effect silent intimidation, the official said. China's defence ministry did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. Taiwan's defence ministry referred Reuters to comments made by defence minister Wellington Koo this week, saying China was carrying out area denial drills in the western Pacific involving an aircraft carrier and other naval formations. China has said the carrier is on routine exercises that are not directed at any country.
The scale of China's naval deployment has decreased this week, with around 70 vessels operating within the first island chain on Friday, according to two Taiwan security officials. Taiwan National Security Council Secretary General Joseph Wu posted details late on Thursday, saying that while the number of vessels had decreased, the groups of the Northern, Eastern and Southern Theater Commands plus the Liaoning carrier strike group remain operating in waters east of the Philippines, and that Chinese air force activity also remained high near Taiwan.
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：中国海军歼-15 舰载机准备在辽宁舰上着舰（资料图，2022 年 5 月摄；台方称辽宁舰打击群本轮仍在菲律宾以东活动）。图中是一架准备在辽宁舰上着舰的歼-15 舰载机。作者与授权：日本防衛省・統合幕僚監部，CC BY 4.0，维基共享资源。 / Photo: A Shenyang J-15 carrier-based fighter preparing to land on the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning (file photo). Wikimedia Commons (日本防衛省・統合幕僚監部, CC BY 4.0).
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