Taiwan says China deployed more than 100 vessels in regional waters
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
China deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in regional waters.
PHOTO: AFP
TAIPEI - Taiwan’s security officials said on May 23 that China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in regional waters stretching from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and Western Pacific.
The deployment began before US President Donald Trump’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing, and increased to more than 100 after the summit ended, a security official told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
Mr Trump has caused jitters in Taipei after suggesting US arms sales to Taiwan could be used as a bargaining chip with China, which claims the island is part of its territory and has threatened to seize it by force.
Taiwan relies heavily on US support to deter any potential Chinese attack.
In a X post, Taiwan National Security Council chief Joseph Wu shared a map dated May 23 showing “China’s Maritime Deployment”, with Chinese navy and coast guard ships dotted from the Yellow Sea off the Korean Peninsula down to the South China Sea and in the Western Pacific.
“In this part of the world,#China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability,” Mr Wu said in the post.
Marine survey and research ships are also among the more than 100 vessels, the security official told AFP.
It is not clear what the vessels are doing, but Chinese navy and coast guard vessels have previously trained in these waters.
China has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan in recent years, deploying fighter jets and warships around the island on an almost daily basis and staging several large-scale drills.
Taiwan’s government has been on the offensive since Mr Trump’s remarks on arms sales, insisting US policy has not changed and that arms sales are part of Washington’s security commitment to the island.
Mr Trump on May 20 referred to “the Taiwan problem” when asked if he would speak to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te about arms sales to the democratic island.
“I’ll speak to him. I speak to everybody,” Mr Trump said, adding that he had a great meeting with Mr Xi during his state visit.
“We’ll work on that, the Taiwan problem,” Mr Trump said.
Such a conversation between the presidents of Taiwan and the United States would break more than four decades of diplomatic protocol and risk angering China. AFP
