With eyes on blockade, China tests boosted presence east of Taiwan: study
China is ramping up its maritime presence in the area, an apparent bid to establish jurisdiction in the waters and counter Japan-Philippine cooperation.
China is intensifying its military presence east of Taiwan, potentially to assert control over the waters and counter the recent cooperation between Japan and the Philippines, according to a study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. This strategy could also assist in a potential blockade or quarantine of Taiwan, the report suggests.
The heightened activity, revealed in the study published this week, involves a series of unprecedented operations conducted by Chinese survey and law enforcement ships in the Philippine Sea. These actions include questioning nearly 200 commercial vessels as they pass through the region, demanding information about their ports of call and crew members.
Furthermore, China has maintained a sustained law-enforcement presence in the area. These moves come in the wake of a May announcement by Japan and the Philippines, which announced they would be holding maritime boundary talks for the region.
Written by urgent.news from Japan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
