Brent Sadler
Amid the hysteria over unknown drone swarms sweeping the U.S. mid-Atlantic, a massive and very unusual Chinese naval operation was conducted near Taiwan.
What China Did Near Taiwan
Between December 9-11, over 90 Chinese warships and dozens of aircraft participated in the largest Chinese naval exercise in decades. The drills were made more remarkable by the fact that Beijing made no public statement before, during, or after the operation to explain it.
The first public notice of this unprecedented military operation was the establishment on December 9 of seven airspace exclusion zones stretching from the Yellow Sea, Taiwan Straits and into the South China Sea. That same day, Taiwan defense officials stated large number of warships and significant numbers of aircraft had been engaged in the most widespread Chinese military operation since the third Taiwan crisis (1995-1996). Importantly, Chinese aircraft carriers Liaoning, Shandong, and Fujian remained in port during the operation.
India’s Spending on Defense To Deter China
Adding to the intrigue was the lack of any public statement before this massive military operation. Typically, Beijing has signaled such activities as an act of protest against something Taipei or the U.S. did. The only official comment from Beijing on the December operation came from a Chinese military spokesman:
The PLA (China Communist Party’s military) will decide whether and when to conduct military exercises in accordance with our needs and the situation across the (Taiwan) Strait.
What do we know about the operation? Originally, many China watchers thought this would be the third Joint Sword exercise. The first exercise, Joint Sword 2024A, came in response to the new Taiwanese President’s inauguration speech. Joint Sword 2024B followed the October 10 founding day speech by President Lai Ching Te.
According to previous Heritage analysis, Beijing has in recent years conducted military demonstrations focused on blockading and conducting missile attacks on Taiwan with little notice (typically several days in advance), » Read More
https://www.heritage.org/china/commentary/chinas-largest-naval-exercise-decades-why-send-90-warships-near-taiwan