[International] Chinese Military Aircraft and Ships Frequently Harass Taiwan; Wall Street Journal: Beijing is Tightening the Noose Around Taiwan
bellala 央廣6h 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 military aircraft and ships around the Taiwan Strait since 2020. Currently, there are almost 5 to 6 PLA naval vessels regularly 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 and US support, while the PLA continues its activities around the Taiwan Strait, conducting reconnaissance or patrol missions. This conveys the message that as Beijing expands its military power, Taiwan's resistance to Chinese rule is futile. The well-equipped and large PLA Navy has become the core driver of pressure against Taiwan.
Late last month, PLA warships, including large guided-missile destroyers, were deployed around Taiwan. This was not a military exercise to display force, but merely a typical day in 2026.
For years, China only sent one naval vessel 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 noted that Beijing then dispatched two additional naval vessels, deployed off the northern and southern coasts of Taiwan. Two years later, a third naval vessel appeared in the waters east of Taiwan, resulting in regular deployments on almost all sides of Taiwan. In 2024, a fifth naval vessel joined the deployment in the waters east of Taiwan, and a sixth vessel subsequently became stationed in the same area.
Security officials point out 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 have 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 escalation in naval deployments 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 the election of President Lai Ching-te in 2024. Currently, there are almost always 5 to 6 Chinese warships around Taiwan, and if irregular naval vessels are included, the number is often higher.
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 collect data and gain experience in waters where they might operate in the future.
Security officials said that the 6 naval vessels surrounding Taiwan typically patrol for about two weeks per rotation, with one vessel 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 vessels 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 noted that the ROC armed forces' vessels must be on standby at all times, leading to delayed routine maintenance and reduced rest time for the crews.
Concurrently, China continues to collect a large amount of information on Taiwan's military, including its movement patterns, operations, communications, and responses to Chinese military activities.
Dahm believes: "It will become 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, even identifying potential hiding places for enemy submarines. If a conflict were to occur in the Taiwan Strait in the future, this would have a significant impact on the US military's defense of Taiwan. US submarines would find it harder to approach the PLA vessels already deployed east of Taiwan undetected.
Security officials are closely observing whether China will further expand its naval deployments 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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