By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard
TAIPEI, Nov 13 (Reuters) – China carried out a large, unannounced military exercise across the western Pacific and around Taiwan in early November, in what officials in Taipei have 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.
The drills come as China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has stepped up its military pressure over the past five years, drawing condemnation from Taipei and heightening concern in Western capitals about the potential for conflict.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday gave a major policy speech about Taiwan, urging peaceful “reunification” though making no mention of using force.
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,” they said.
“This is like a robber hiding a gun in the pocket of a coat — with the muzzle pointed at the bank teller. It scares the teller into handing over the money, while avoiding setting off the alarm and bringing in a large police response.”
China’s defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Taiwan’s defence ministry referred Reuters to comments made by 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, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, has said the carrier is on “routine” exercises that are not directed at any country.
Beijing is hosting the APEC leaders’ summit in Shenzhen next week, where US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet for the third time this year. Taiwan also attends APEC.
A foreign intelligence source said the “silent drills without a name”, given the lack of a public announcement by China, appeared deliberate, allowing Beijing to apply military pressure while avoiding a diplomatic backlash.
The latter part of the year, when the weather is typically calmer, is when China normally carries out drills, the person told Reuters.
COORDINATED NAVAL FORCES
The Chinese drills involved coordinated naval forces from its eastern, northern and southern theatre commands, a scale that suggested Beijing was rehearsing not only a Taiwan blockade scenario but broader operations across the western Pacific, the Taiwan official said.
That also suggested China’s effort to integrate regional fleets into a single far-seas operational force, the official said.
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 of the latest deployments on X late on Thursday, saying while the number of vessels had decreased, “the groups of Northern, Eastern & Southern Theater Commands plus Liaoning carrier strike group remain operating in waters east of the Philippines.”
He added that Chinese air force activity also remained high near Taiwan.
China’s widely read state-backed paper the Global Times said on Friday that if Taiwan’s ruling party persists in “seeking ‘independence by relying on external forces or military means,’ dragging the residents of Taiwan onto their war chariot, they will inevitably face a harsh reckoning”.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
