[International] Frequent Intrusions by Chinese Aircraft and Ships Near Taiwan; Wall Street Journal: Beijing is Tightening the Noose Around Taiwan
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bellala 央廣＠＠4h ago
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has revealed that as China uses its international influence to continuously isolate Taiwan, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has increased the deployment of aircraft and warships around the Taiwan Strait since 2020. Currently, there are almost 5 to 6 warships routinely deployed, and experts point out that Beijing is gradually tightening the encirclement of Taiwan.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Chinese President Xi Jinping is using international influence to isolate Taiwan, targeting its crucial lifelines, including US support, while the PLA continues its activities around the Taiwan Strait, conducting reconnaissance or patrol missions. This conveys the message that with Beijing's military expansion, Taiwan's resistance to Chinese rule is futile. The well-equipped and large-scale PLA Navy has become the core driver of pressure on Taiwan.
At the end of last month, PLA vessels, including large guided-missile destroyers, were deployed around Taiwan. This was not a show of force or a military exercise, but just a typical day in 2026.
For years, China only sent one warship to patrol back and forth across the Taiwan Strait. However, this situation quietly underwent a significant change in 2020. Security officials closely monitoring these dynamics pointed out that Beijing then added two more warships, deployed off the northern and southern coasts of Taiwan. Two years later, a third warship appeared in the waters east of Taiwan, resulting in routine deployments on almost all sides of Taiwan. In 2024, a fifth warship joined the deployment in the waters east of Taiwan, and a sixth warship later became a permanent resident in the area.
Security officials noted that 2020 was a critical turning point for China's military activities around Taiwan, with several reasons behind it. US intelligence assessments indicate that Xi Jinping ordered the PLA a year ago to possess the capability to take Taiwan by force by the end of 2027, significantly advancing the original timeline from 2035. 2027 is the deadline for Beijing's requirement for the PLA's combat readiness, not the actual date of an invasion.
Officials stated that each upgrade in warship deployment occurred after political events that displeased Beijing, including President Tsai Ing-wen's successful re-election in 2020, the visit of then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in 2022, and President Lai Ching-te's election in 2024. Currently, there are almost always 5 to 6 Chinese warships around Taiwan, and the number is often higher when including naval vessels that arrive irregularly.
Michael Dahm, a retired US Navy intelligence officer and senior fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, stated, "This signifies that (China) is gradually tightening the noose." According to reports, China's round-the-clock maritime patrols are not just political propaganda tools; they also provide the PLA with daily opportunities to gather data and experience in waters where they might operate in the future.
Security officials said that the 6 warships surrounding Taiwan typically patrol for about two weeks per shift, with one warship leaving and another taking its place. The PLA continuously deploys different vessels, allowing more crew members to gain experience and familiarity with the waters around Taiwan.
Most of the time, these vessels remain outside Taiwan's 24-nautical-mile line, but not always. They often enter so-called "joint combat readiness patrols," advancing several nautical miles inward in a coordinated manner. Some security officials refer to this tactic as "bumping the boundary."
Taiwan recorded 40 such incidents last year and 15 so far this year. Taiwan typically dispatches warships and coast guard vessels to monitor and trail the Chinese warships until they leave the 24-nautical-mile zone. Officials stated that the frequency and duration of confrontations are increasing, often lasting up to 48 hours, placing a heavy burden on the smaller and manpower-strapped navy. Taiwanese officials pointed out that the ROC military vessels must be on standby at all times, leading to delayed routine maintenance and compressing rest time for the crew.
Concurrently, China continues to collect a large amount of information related to Taiwan's military, including its movement patterns, operations, and communications, as well as how it responds to Chinese military activities.
Dahm believes, "It will be increasingly difficult to catch the Chinese navy off guard in the future, meaning Taiwan will have fewer options, less room to hide, and it will be harder to achieve deception." Dahm pointed out that China's activities in the waters east of Taiwan allow it to thoroughly study the environment there and even identify potential hiding places for enemy submarines. If a conflict breaks out in the Taiwan Strait in the future, this will have a significant impact on the US military's defense of Taiwan. US submarines will find it harder to approach the Chinese warships already deployed in the waters east of Taiwan undetected.
Security officials are closely observing whether China will further expand its deployment of warships in the waters around Taiwan in the future. (Editor: Shen Zhen-jiang)
Source Link: https://www.rti.org.tw/news?uid=3&pid=215693
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