China carried out a large, unannounced military exercise across the western Pacific and around Taiwan in early November, senior Taiwan security officials, speaking anonymously, told Reuters, describing the operation as a campaign of “silent intimidation” aimed at pressuring Taiwan and other governments before major international meetings.
At one point, China’s military and coast guard massed more than 100 vessels in the region, the officials said. The drills included simulated attacks on other militaries and on cities, including Taiwan’s. According to the officials, the 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.
During the drills, a Chinese submarine launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from the Yellow Sea into the Chinese mainland, according to the official cited by Reuters.
Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a major policy speech on Taiwan on Thursday, urging peaceful “reunification” while making no mention of using force, Reuters reported.
The drills involved coordinated naval forces from China’s eastern, northern and southern theatre commands, suggesting a rehearsal of a Taiwan blockade scenario and broader operations in the western Pacific, the officials said.
The scale of the 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 on X late on Thursday, saying the northern, eastern and southern theatre command groups, along with the Liaoning carrier strike group, remain operating in waters east of the Philippines, and that Chinese air force activity near Taiwan remained high.
China’s defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment, Reuters said. Taiwan’s defence ministry referred Reuters to comments by minister Wellington Koo this week about “area denial” drills in the western Pacific involving an aircraft carrier. China has said the carrier is on “routine” exercises not directed at any country.
Beijing hosts the APEC leaders’ summit in Shenzhen next week, where Trump and Xi are expected to meet. A foreign intelligence source told Reuters the unnamed “silent drills” appeared deliberate, letting Beijing apply military pressure while avoiding a diplomatic backlash.
China’s state-backed Global Times said on Friday that if Taiwan’s ruling party persists in “seeking independence by relying on external forces or military means”, they will “inevitably face a harsh reckoning”.
Source: Reuters
