China deploys more than 100 vessels

Taiwan security officials said on May 23 that China had deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels across waters stretching from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and the western Pacific. Joseph Wu, secretary-general of Taiwan’s National Security Council, said the buildup had taken place over the previous few days and followed the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Taiwan cast the deployment as a regional security issue rather than activity confined to the Taiwan Strait. China had not publicly detailed the purpose of the operation by May 24. ### Where did the “more than 100 vessels” claim come from? Joseph Wu said on X on May 23 that Taiwan’s intelligence showed China had deployed “over 100 vessels around the 1st Island Chain over the past few days.” He said the activity came “so soon after the Beijing summit” and accused China of “wrecking the Status Quo” and threatening regional peace and stability. (philstar.com) Philstar, citing Taiwan security officials, reported on May 24 that the vessels included navy, coast guard and other ships and were spread across a wide arc of regional waters. AFP-based reports carried by other outlets said an unnamed Taiwan security official told the news agency that Chinese ships had been detected before the Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing and that the number rose above 100 in recent days. (aol.com) ### What area does Taiwan say the deployment covered? Taiwan’s description placed the activity from the Yellow Sea in the north to the South China Sea and western Pacific in the south and east. Reports based on Wu’s statement and Taiwan security officials said the deployment was visible around the so-called first island chain, including waters near Taiwan, the East China Sea and areas near the Philippines. (philstar.com) Fox News and other pickups of Wu’s statement said a map accompanying his comments showed concentrations of Chinese vessels near Taiwan, in the South China Sea and East China Sea, and in nearby western Pacific waters. Taiwan did not publicly provide a ship-by-ship breakdown showing how many belonged to the People’s Liberation Army Navy, the China Coast Guard or other state-linked fleets. (philstar.com) ### Did Taiwan tie the deployment to the Trump-Xi summit? Taiwan officials said the timing mattered. AFP-based reports said the deployment began before Trump met Xi in Beijing and expanded after the summit ended. Wu’s public statement also linked the activity to the period immediately after the meeting. Donald Trump had already unsettled officials in Taipei by suggesting U.S. arms sales to Taiwan could be used as a bargaining point with China, according to AFP reporting carried by several outlets. (aol.com) Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and has repeatedly opposed U.S. military support for the island. ### How does this compare with Taiwan’s routine daily reports? (nampa.org) Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said on May 24 it had detected four Chinese aircraft sorties and six naval vessels around the island in the previous 24 hours. Three of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, according to ministry reporting cited by local and international outlets. (straitstimes.com) The ministry’s daily figures are much smaller than the “more than 100 vessels” count because the larger number referred to a regional deployment, not only ships operating immediately around Taiwan. Taiwan’s public accounts described the episode as activity spread across multiple seas rather than a single concentrated maneuver at one point on the map. That is an inference from Taiwan’s separate descriptions of the regional deployment and the daily around-island tally. (taiwannews.com.tw) ### What is still not clear? China had not publicly stated the mission, duration or composition of the deployment by May 24 in the material surfaced here. Taiwan’s officials also had not publicly released a full list of ship types or an official map with precise counts by location in the reports reviewed. Taiwan’s defense ministry continued issuing daily updates on Chinese aircraft and vessel movements on May 24, while Wu’s May 23 statement remained Taiwan’s clearest public account of the broader regional deployment. (philstar.com) (taiwannews.com.tw)