By Ben Blanchard
TAIPEI, Nov 10 (Reuters) – China is carrying out “area denial” drills in the Western Pacific involving one of its aircraft carriers and other naval formations, Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Tuesday, following a reported rise in Chinese activities.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, regularly sends its warplanes and warships into the skies and waters around the island.
Last week, Taiwan National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu posted on his X account details of the deployments of more than 100 Chinese naval and Coast Guard ships operating off Taiwan, in the South China Sea, and into the Pacific.
Taiwan’s defence ministry last week also reported a large rise in the number of Chinese air force aircraft around Taiwan, though China has not formally declared any drills.
“China has indeed conducted area denial drills in the Western Pacific with the Liaoning carrier group and other naval training formations,” Koo told reporters at parliament.
Anti-access/area denial, or A2AD, refers to keeping an outside force from intervening in a conflict, which in the Taiwan context means stopping US or other allied forces from coming to Taipei’s aid should Beijing attack.
China’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ministry said last month that the Liaoning carrier’s training in the western Pacific was an annual routine to test long-range, open-ocean combat capabilities and was not directed at any particular country.
China’s drills come ahead of both the APEC summit in Shenzhen next week, where US President Donald Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping again, and Taiwan’s local elections at the end of this month.
Koo said the military was keeping a close watch on what China was up to.
“We believe that this kind of military deterrence is intended to undermine peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” he added.
“We will use joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance means and exchange intelligence with allies to continuously monitor these activities and respond appropriately.”
China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, though it says it would prefer “peaceful reunification”.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the Taiwanese people can decide their future.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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