Chinese Warships Double Ahead of Expected Wargames, Taiwan Says

A ship sails in the Taiwan Strait between the coast of Pingtan island (foreground), the closest point to Taiwan, and another island in China's southeast Fujian province on April 7, 2023. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said on Dec. 8 that China has nearly doubled its number of warships around Taiwan in the past 24 hours. Fourteen ships were spotted near the island, up from eight the previous day. The ministry also reported four Chinese balloons flying over the Taiwan Strait, a narrow body of water between China and Taiwan.

The Chinese communist regime has already held two rounds of wargames around the democratically ruled island nation this year, and Taiwan’s security sources believe a third is coming.

Beijing expressed anger after Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s recent diplomatic trip to Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam, during which he said he spoke to several high-ranking U.S. lawmakers by phone and video call. Lai thanked the bipartisan group of lawmakers later on social media for advancing peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. He returned to Taiwan on Dec. 6.

A Chinese regime spokesperson condemned the visit and said that Taiwan was the “first red line that may not be crossed in Sino–U.S. relations,” warning that the regime would take “resolute and forceful measures.”

On Dec. 8, China’s Defense Ministry issued a statement on WeChat stating that the United States was “acting in cahoots with gangsters and jackals” in supporting Taiwan, reiterating claims that anyone stepping “out of line on the Taiwan issue” would have to “pay a price.”

The Chinese Communist Party claims Taiwan as its territory, though it has never ruled the island nation, and has said it may seize the island by force. Taiwan does not recognize China’s rule, though it has few allies that recognize it as an independent nation.

The Chinese regime routinely warns international bodies against dealing with Taiwan and has made compliance with this line a prerequisite for negotiations.

When former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) made an official visit to Taiwan in 2022, she became the first House speaker to do so since 1997, prompting Beijing to abruptly cut off bilateral communications, including stopping all cooperation on an agreement to help curb illicit fentanyl shipments.

Recently, the Chinese regime has taken issue with U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, sanctioning 13 U.S. defense companies and six executives on Dec. 5.

The move, banning the defense companies and executives from entering and doing business in China, is seen as symbolic because the United States already prohibits defense exports to China.

The United States on Nov. 29 greenlit a plan to sell Taiwan up to $385 million worth of spare parts for F-16 fighter jets, radar, and other equipment.

Alex Wu and Reuters contributed to this report.