China has showcased its military power this month by deploying an unusually large number of naval and coast guard vessels across key East Asian waters, according to security documents and regional officials.
These movements have caused concern among neighboring capitals.
Since early May, China has sent fleets larger than usual—comprising navy, coast guard, and other vessels—near Taiwan, the southern Japanese islands, and the East and South China Seas, multiple regional security sources and reviewed military activity documents reveal.
On May 21 and May 27, for example, China dispatched nearly 60 and over 70 ships respectively, with roughly three-quarters of these being naval vessels. The fleet included guided-missile frigates, destroyers, and Coast Guard boats. The documents also show that Beijing sent two aircraft carrier groups: the Shandong is operating in the busy South China Sea, while the Liaoning is positioned off Taiwan’s southeastern coast.
"They are exerting pressure on the whole of the first island chain amid global geopolitical uncertainties," said one security official, referring to the waters spanning from Japan through Taiwan, the Philippines, and down to Borneo, enclosing China’s coastal seas.
"They are trying to reinforce their dominance," the official added, noting that recent drills by the Liaoning—China’s oldest aircraft carrier—simulated attacks on foreign ships and aircraft in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea.
"There was an 'obvious' stepped-up Chinese naval presence this month," a second source confirmed, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the intelligence. "China clearly wants to show these are its home waters and it can operate when and where it wants."
China’s defense ministry did not respond to requests for comment by Reuters.
In the past two weeks, China declared several live-fire drill zones off its coast, including an area directly facing southwestern Taiwan last week. Chinese state television recently broadcast amphibious drills conducted in Fujian province, located across the strait from Taiwan, though the exact location was not disclosed.
This week, Japan has tracked the Liaoning and its accompanying vessels as they moved through the southern Japanese islands into the Western Pacific. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi commented, "China seems to be trying to improve its capacity to operate far from the Chinese coast." He assured reporters that the Japanese government "intends to keep a close eye on relevant movement and do its utmost in carrying out monitoring and surveillance activities."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated in Beijing that the naval activities "were in line with international law and practice," urging Japan to "look at them objectively and rationally."
China continues to maintain a tense stance with the Philippines in the South China Sea. Its foreign ministry on Friday called on the Philippines to immediately halt "infringement and provocation."
Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, spokesperson for the Philippine Navy on South China Sea issues, told Reuters that China’s "illegal presence" in Southeast Asian maritime zones "has been disturbing the peace in the region and is contrary to pronouncements of its 'peaceful rise.'"
The surge in Chinese military activity coincides with the one-year anniversary of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s tenure. Since Lai’s inauguration, whom China labels a "separatist," Beijing has conducted three major rounds of war games.
On Wednesday, Taiwan’s defense ministry confirmed that the Liaoning remained off the island’s southeast coast and added that Taiwan would "raise its combat preparedness in line with the threat level."