Insider reveals

China deploys almost 90 warships near Taiwan

A Chinese coast guard ship observes Taiwanese coast guard vessels in waters east of Taiwan.(Bild: APA/AFP/TAIWAN COAST GUARD/Handout)

Taiwan has raised its alert level due to a major maneuver by the Chinese navy.

China has deployed almost 90 navy and coast guard ships, two-thirds of them warships, in a wide strip near Taiwanese waters, southern Japanese islands and the East and South China Seas, a Taiwanese security representative told Reuters news agency on Monday. No comment could be obtained from China's Ministry of Defense.

A crew member on board a Taiwanese coast guard vessel observes a Chinese coast guard vessel.(Bild: APA/AFP/TAIWAN COAST GUARD/Handout)

The maneuver is not entirely unexpected after Taiwanese President Lai Ching Te visited Hawaii and the US Pacific island of Guam. China had already reacted several times with sabre-rattling to such visits or contacts between the USA and democratically governed Taiwan, which the People's Republic regards as part of its own country.

Long conflict

China regards Taiwan as a renegade province, although independent and democratically elected governments have always been in power there for decades. The leadership in Beijing has already threatened several times to unite the island, which has a population of more than 23 million, with the mainland using military force.

Heightened alert
This year, China has already held two maneuvers. However, these were not as large as this time, explained a security representative in Taiwan. According to the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense, China has set up seven temporarily reserved airspaces east of its Fujian and Zhejiang provinces from Monday to Wednesday.

Taiwan's military stated that it had raised its alert level at strategic points. The coast guard and navy were keeping a close eye on Chinese activities. It warned China against unilateral steps that could jeopardize peace.