In the cold days of early November, a great gathering of more than a hundred Chinese ships stretched across the western Pacific and around Taiwan without a word of explanation from Beijing. It is a quiet kind of menace, the sort that history has often seen when a power wishes to be felt without being seen to threaten, and Taipei has named it, with a wary calm, silent intimidation. The approach arrives just before the leaders of the Asia-Pacific gather in Shenzhen, where Washington and Beijing will meet and where Taiwan will also be present, so the sea and the summit now speak to each other acr
China Runs Unannounced Pacific Naval Drills Around Taiwan, Officials Call It 'Silent Intimidation'
A robber hiding a gun in a coat pocket, muzzle pointed at the bank teller
Mark
Why does it matter that these drills had no name?
Mimi
Named drills like Justice Mission 2025 are announced, and they draw a public response. This one, officials say, was designed to avoid that, pressure without the alarm.
Mark
And the timing, right before APEC in Shenzhen?
Mimi
Trump and Xi are expected to meet there for the third time this year, and Taiwan attends too. Taipei sees the drills as pressure ahead of those meetings.
Luke
Careful, though. The 100-vessel figure comes from one anonymous Taiwan official. Reuters hasn't independently confirmed it.
Mimi
True. The later figure of about 70 vessels comes from two Taiwan security officials, so it's also Taipei's account. Joseph Wu's X post is on the record, though.
Mark
What about the missile launch?
Luke
Same caveat. It's the official's claim, and China hasn't commented on it.
Mimi
Beijing's only public line is that the carrier is on routine exercises not aimed at any country.
Mark
Is the "rehearsing a blockade" reading established?
Luke
No. It's the Taiwan official's interpretation of the scale and the three theatre commands. A foreign intelligence source also called the silence deliberate, but that's an assessment, not proof of intent.
Mimi
And Xi's speech on Thursday urged peaceful reunification without mentioning force, while the Global Times warned of a "harsh reckoning." The messages sit side by side.
Luke
What we don't know is whether activity continues after Shenzhen.
Le Pouls
- More than 100 Chinese military and coast guard vessels appeared at once across the western Pacific and around Taiwan, with no announcement to explain them.
- Taipei's officials describe a deliberate squeeze: a threat held in plain view but never declared, pressing on the island while avoiding open diplomatic blowback.
- Simulated attacks on other militaries and on cities, Taiwan's among them, drew on three theatre commands and the Liaoning carrier group, raising fears of a rehearsed blockade.
- Vessel numbers have fallen to about 70 inside the first island chain, yet carrier and fleet groups remain east of the Philippines and air activity near Taiwan stays high.
- All eyes now turn to the Trump-Xi meeting in Shenzhen next week and to whether the waters around Taiwan grow calm or stir again.
In the cold days of early November, a great gathering of more than a hundred Chinese ships stretched across the western Pacific and around Taiwan without a word of explanation from Beijing. It is a quiet kind of menace, the sort that history has often seen when a power wishes to be felt without being seen to threaten, and Taipei has named it, with a wary calm, silent intimidation. The approach arrives just before the leaders of the Asia-Pacific gather in Shenzhen, where Washington and Beijing will meet and where Taiwan will also be present, so the sea and the summit now speak to each other across the same week.
More than a hundred Chinese military and coast guard vessels were gathered across the western Pacific and around Taiwan in early November, according to a senior Taiwan security official. Beijing made no announcement, gave the operation no name, and offered no public explanation. Taipei has taken to calling it "silent intimidation."
The official described simulated attacks on other militaries and on cities, Taiwan's among them, and said the deployment exceeded the scale of "Justice Mission 2025," the last formally named Chinese exercise aimed at the island. Ships were drawn from the eastern, northern and southern theatre commands. To the official, the scale suggested a rehearsal not only of a blockade but of a broader far-seas force stretching across the Pacific. The official compared the tactic to a robber keeping a gun hidden in a coat pocket: the threat frightens without triggering alarms.
The numbers have since eased, with about 70 vessels reported within the first island chain. Still, the Liaoning carrier group and other formations remain east of the Philippines, and air activity near Taiwan is high. Taiwan's defence minister described "area denial" drills involving a carrier. Beijing calls them routine and says they are not aimed at any country.
The timing sharpens the moment. Next week in Shenzhen, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are expected to meet at the APEC summit, which Taiwan also attends. Xi recently spoke of peaceful reunification without mentioning force, while the state-backed Global Times warned Taiwan's ruling party of a "harsh reckoning" if it pursued independence. Whether the waters near Taiwan stay quiet after the summit is the question now waiting.
More than 100 Chinese military and coast guard vessels were massed across the western Pacific and around Taiwan at one point in early November, according to a senior Taiwan security official. There was no announcement from Beijing, no name for the operation, and no public declaration. Officials in Taipei have settled on a phrase for it: "silent intimidation."
The official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the drills included simulated attacks on other militaries and on cities, Taiwan's among them. By the official's account, the deployment was larger than "Justice Mission 2025," the last formally named Chinese exercise aimed at Taiwan, held nearly a year ago and one of the largest Chinese naval deployments to date. The official also said a Chinese submarine launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from the Yellow Sea into the Chinese mainland during the exercise.
The official reached for an image to explain the logic. It is like a robber hiding a gun in a coat pocket with the muzzle pointed at the bank teller, they said: it frightens the teller into handing over the money without setting off the alarm or drawing a large police response.
The force was drawn from China's eastern, northern and southern theatre commands. To the Taiwan official, that scale suggested Beijing was rehearsing more than a blockade of Taiwan. It pointed to broader operations across the western Pacific, and to an effort to fold regional fleets into a single far-seas operational force.
The numbers have since come down. On Friday, two Taiwan security officials said about 70 vessels were operating within the first island chain. Joseph Wu, secretary-general of Taiwan's National Security Council, posted on X late Thursday that although the count had fallen, the Northern, Eastern and Southern Theater Command groups, plus the Liaoning carrier strike group, remained in waters east of the Philippines. He added that Chinese air force activity near Taiwan was still high.
Taiwan's defence ministry did not discuss the numbers directly. It pointed Reuters to remarks this week by minister Wellington Koo, who said China was running "area denial" drills in the western Pacific involving an aircraft carrier and other naval formations. China's defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Beijing has said the carrier is on "routine" exercises not directed at any country. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to take control of it.
The timing matters. Beijing hosts the APEC leaders' summit in Shenzhen next week, where US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet for the third time this year. Taiwan also attends APEC. On Thursday, Xi gave a major policy speech on Taiwan urging peaceful "reunification" and making no mention of force.
A foreign intelligence source told Reuters the lack of any announcement appeared deliberate, letting Beijing apply military pressure while avoiding a diplomatic backlash. The source added that the latter part of the year, when weather is typically calmer, is when China normally holds such drills.
On Friday, the state-backed Global Times warned that if Taiwan's ruling party keeps seeking "independence by relying on external forces or military means" and drags Taiwan's residents onto its "war chariot," they will face a "harsh reckoning." Next week's Trump-Xi meeting in Shenzhen is the next marker, along with whether naval activity near Taiwan persists now that vessel numbers have fallen.
Citations marquantes
It is a silent exercise — and in effect, silent intimidation.— Senior Taiwan security official, speaking anonymously
China has said the carrier is on routine exercises not directed at any country.— Chinese government position, as reported by Reuters
Envie de l'histoire complète ?
Lire l'original sur Reuters ↗