Many warships, few words. On December 9, China began its largest naval exercises in almost 30 years, deploying about 90 vessels and some 50 warplanes in the South China Sea—from near Japan’s southern islands to the Taiwan Strait. Oddly, Beijing didn’t announce the maneuvers—and has refused to say anything about them.
On December 10, Taiwanese defense officials called a news conference to present evidence about the drills. They say they think China wants to show it has the strength both to conquer the island and to prevent the U.S. and its allies from coming to Taiwan’s defense.
Media reports also suggested that China would launch some sort of operation to show its displeasure that Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te visited Hawaii, along with the U.S. territory of Guam, in early December while on an official visit to other partners in the Asia-Pacific.
What’s Beijing up to?
In October, Issac Kardon looked at its strategy in the South China Sea, with China having stepped up its military presence—and its harassment of neighboring countries—in recent years. These exercises, Kardon says, have multiple goals: One is to prepare the battlefield for a potential invasion of Taiwan, which Beijing wants to reunite with the mainland. But a larger goal is to establish China as the dominant maritime power in the whole South China Sea—which has menacing implications toward the U.S. presence there.
—Michael Bluhm
