Pacific drills intensify
- China staged naval drills east of Luzon, near Taiwan, in apparent response to joint US-Philippines Balikatan exercises. - Japan sent a Self-Defense Forces vessel through the Taiwan Strait, and Taiwan's Ocean Affairs head visited Taiping Island. - The overlapping transits and drills raise miscalculation risk as China's new Type 076 'drone carrier' prepares South China Sea exercises ( ).
China sent warships into waters east of Luzon this week as the United States and the Philippines opened Balikatan 2026 nearby. (scmp.com) Balikatan began on April 20 and runs to May 8, with more than 17,000 troops training across the Philippines. Japan joined as an active participant for the first time, adding about 1,400 Self-Defense Forces personnel. (abc.net.au; nippon.com) China’s latest moves came after the aircraft carrier Liaoning transited the Taiwan Strait on April 20, the first such passage by a Chinese carrier since late 2025, according to Taiwan’s defense ministry. Beijing also protested after the Japanese destroyer *Ikazuchi* passed through the strait on April 17 on its way south. (usnews.com; japannews.yomiuri.co.jp; english.scio.gov.cn) Taiwan added its own signal on April 22, when Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling flew to Taiping Island in the Spratlys to watch a maritime rescue drill. It was the first visit by a council head in seven years. (taipeitimes.com; focustaiwan.tw) The overlap matters because these are not isolated passages. The Taiwan Strait, the Luzon Strait and the northern South China Sea form one connected corridor for ships and aircraft moving between Taiwan, the Philippines and the wider Pacific. (thediplomat.com; csis.org) China is also pushing a new capability into that corridor. The navy said its first Type 076 amphibious assault ship, *Sichuan*, had left Shanghai for South China Sea trials and training to test onboard systems and flight operations. (thestar.com.my; scmp.com) The 40,000-ton Type 076 is designed to launch aircraft from a full-length deck while also carrying landing craft, giving China a ship that sits between a helicopter assault ship and a small carrier. Analysts have focused on its electromagnetic catapult, a launch system more commonly associated with larger carriers. (scmp.com; yahoo.com) Beijing says the drills are routine and has accused Washington, Manila and Tokyo of raising tensions. China’s foreign ministry said Japan’s Taiwan Strait transit “severely threatens” China’s sovereignty and security, while Chinese officials warned Balikatan participants against “playing with fire.” (english.scio.gov.cn; philstar.com) Washington, Manila, Tokyo and Taipei frame the same movements as deterrence and readiness. Philippine and allied officials have described Balikatan as training for “real-world conditions,” while Taiwan cast the Taiping drill as humanitarian rescue and law-enforcement practice. (abc.net.au; taipeitimes.com) For now, the region is seeing more ships, more aircraft and more overlapping exercises in the same sea lanes at the same time. The next test is whether those forces keep signaling from a distance or start operating close enough to force split-second decisions. (scmp.com; thediplomat.com)
