China deployed over 100 ships in undeclared war games near Taiwan

A large military exercise was conducted by China in Taiwan and the surrounding areas of the Western Pacific Ocean in early November without any prior announcement. According to a report by 'The Hindu' newspaper, Taiwanese officials have described this action as a “silent intimidation” aimed at pressuring Taiwan and other governments ahead of major international summits. A senior Taiwanese security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, stated that China's military and Coast Guard had gathered more than 100 ships in the region at one time earlier this month.

This naval deployment was larger than the “Justice Mission 2025” targeting Taiwan last year and is one of China's largest naval deployments to date. These exercises included simulations of mock attacks on other militaries and cities, including Taiwan. These exercises have come to light at a time when China, which considers democratically governed Taiwan its own territory, has been continuously increasing its military pressure for the last five years. This has been strongly condemned by Taiwan, and concerns about the possibility of conflict have grown in Western capitals.

Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a major policy speech about Taiwan on Thursday, November 12, 2026. In this speech, he emphasized peaceful “reunification,” though he made no mention of the use of force. The Taiwanese security official also stated that during these recent exercises, an intercontinental ballistic missile was also launched by a Chinese submarine from the Yellow Sea toward the Chinese mainland. Explaining this military activity, the official said that this is a silent drill and effectively a policy of silent intimidation.

China's Ministry of Defense has not commented on this. Taiwan's Ministry of Defense referred to comments made by Minister Wellington Koo on the matter, which stated that China is conducting “area denial” exercises in the Western Pacific region with aircraft carriers and other naval formations. China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, says the aircraft carrier is on a “routine” exercise not directed at any country.

Next week, Beijing is hosting the APEC leadership summit in Shenzhen, where US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet for the third time this year. Taiwan also attends the APEC summit. A foreign intelligence source said that because of the lack of any public announcement by China, these “nameless silent exercises” appeared intentional, which helps Beijing exert military pressure while avoiding diplomatic backlash.

The source said that the latter part of the year, when the weather is generally calm, is the time when China usually conducts exercises. The Taiwanese official said that the Chinese exercises involved integrated naval forces from its Eastern, Northern, and Southern Theater Commands. This scale indicates that Beijing was practicing not only a Taiwan blockade scenario but also broader operations in the Western Pacific Ocean.

Furthermore, according to two Taiwanese security officials, the scale of China's naval deployment has decreased this week, with approximately 70 ships active within the first island chain as of Friday, November 13.

China is a vast country in East Asia that considers Taiwan its own part and has been continuously increasing pressure in the region on the strength of its military power in recent years.