Taiwan warns of Chinese drills

Taiwan used a fresh round of Chinese military activity on May 19 to sharpen a message it has repeated for months: Beijing, not Taipei, is driving instability around the island. Premier Cho Jung-tai told reporters in Taipei that China’s exercises across the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea and waters near Japan were affecting navigational safety, while the defence ministry said the Chinese military had again carried out a “joint combat readiness patrol” near Taiwan. The comments came a day before the second anniversary of President Lai Ching-te taking office and against the backdrop of new uncertainty over whether the United States will proceed with another major arms package for the island. Defence Minister Wellington Koo said Taipei remained “cautiously optimistic” that U.S. arms sales would continue. ### What exactly did Taiwan say China was doing near the island? Taiwan’s defence ministry said on May 19 that China had again conducted a “joint combat readiness patrol” around the island and released surveillance images of a Chinese J-16 fighter jet and two naval vessels. Taiwan’s military said 22 Chinese aircraft were involved, including J-10 and J-16 fighters and a KJ-500 airborne early warning aircraft, and said 11 of them crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or its extension into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone. (usnews.com) Cho told reporters in Taipei that the People’s Republic of China continued to carry out military exercises of different scales in the Taiwan Strait, the Indo-Pacific, the South China Sea and around Japan. He said those actions were “the greatest source of regional unease and instability,” while the defence ministry said Chinese aircraft and vessels were “the sole factor” undermining regional peace and stability. Reuters reported that China’s Taiwan Affairs Office and defence ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (focustaiwan.tw) ### Why did the drills matter this week? China’s navy said earlier on May 19 that a carrier task group led by the Liaoning had been sent to “relevant waters” of the western Pacific for live-fire and other drills, though it did not specify the exact location. Beijing described the deployment as routine annual training conducted in line with international law and practice. (usnews.com) The timing mattered because the activity came one day before the May 20 anniversary of Lai’s inauguration. Focus Taiwan reported that Taipei’s military rarely publishes surveillance images from an F-16V targeting pod except during larger or more politically sensitive Chinese operations near the island. ### Why is Taipei also talking about U.S. arms sales? Wellington Koo told reporters in parliament on May 19 that Taiwan was still in contact with Washington and remained “cautiously optimistic” about future arms sales after President Donald Trump said he was still considering whether to proceed with new sales. (usnews.com) Reuters reported that Trump made the comment after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing the previous week, where Taiwan was a point of focus. (focustaiwan.tw) Reuters reported that the Trump administration approved an $11 billion package in December 2025, described as the largest ever, while a second package worth about $14 billion had not yet been formally approved. Koo said the United States had repeatedly said its Taiwan policy had not changed and argued that arms sales remained an important “counterbalancing force” for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait under the Taiwan Relations Act. (usnews.com) ### What is Taiwan trying to signal publicly? Cho said on May 19 that Taiwan, formally the Republic of China, is a “sovereign and independent country” and again called for dialogue with Beijing on the basis of equality and dignity. Koo said Taiwan was not the side “repeatedly provoking, creating incidents and undermining the peaceful and stable status quo,” and said China was the party doing that. (usnews.com) Those statements fit a pattern in Taipei’s public messaging: pairing criticism of Chinese military pressure with a claim that Taiwan is preserving the status quo. Reuters reported that Lai has backed Trump’s calls for allies and partners to spend more on defence, even as Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament this month approved only two-thirds of a $40 billion special budget he had requested. (usnews.com) ### What comes next in Taipei? Taiwan’s legislature was due on May 20 to review funding for five U.S. weapons systems for which Taipei has obtained letters of offer and acceptance, according to Focus Taiwan. Premier Cho briefed lawmakers on those systems on May 19, and the Executive Yuan was expected to submit the budget requests ahead of an afternoon plenary session. (focustaiwan.tw) (usnews.com)