Neither China’s armed forces nor state media have announced any increased military activity in the region where Taiwan said Chinese ships had been detected.
Beijing’s defence ministry spokesman Jiang Bin said on Friday that the navy’s training on the high seas complies with international law and “is not directed at any specific country or target”.
He was responding to a question about a Chinese naval flotilla that reportedly may be heading towards Australia.
A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said Beijing “has consistently followed a defensive policy” and urged “relevant parties” not to “overreact or … engage in groundless hype”.
China has refused to rule out using force to take Taiwan, and also contentiously claims sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea.
Taiwan’s intelligence chief Tsai Ming-yen said on Wednesday that October to December was the “peak season” for China’s “annual evaluation exercises”.
There was a possibility that China’s ruling Communist Party could turn seemingly routine military activities into drills targeting Taiwan, Tsai warned.
Last December, Taiwan said about 90 Chinese warships and coast guard vessels took part in vast exercises, including simulating attacks on foreign ships and practising blockading sea routes in Beijing’s biggest maritime drills in years.
Beijing did not confirm the drills at that time.
The United States has historically been Taiwan’s main security backer.
But President Donald Trump’s administration signalled a potential shift in that policy on Friday, saying in a strategy document that its Asian allies Japan and South Korea should take on more of the burden of defending the region.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/taiwan-china-warships-military-operations-south-china-sea-5563881
