Exclusive-China Massing Military Ships Across Region in Show of Maritime Force, Sources Say

By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard
TAIPEI, Dec 4 (Reuters) – China is deploying a large number of naval and coast guard vessels across East Asian waters, at one point more than 100, in the largest maritime show of force to date, according to four sources and intelligence reports reviewed by Reuters.
China is in the middle of what is traditionally a busy season for military exercises, though the People’s Liberation Army has not made any announcements of large-scale officially named drills.
Still, the rise in activity is happening as China and Japan are in a diplomatic crisis after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said last month that a hypothetical Chinese attack on democratically-ruled Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.
Beijing has also been angered by an announcement last month by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te of an extra $40 billion in defence spending to counter China, which views the island as its own territory.
The Chinese ships have massed in waters stretching from the southern part of the Yellow Sea through the East China Sea and down into the contested South China Sea, as well as into the Pacific, according to four security officials in the region.
Their accounts were corroborated by intelligence reports from a country in the region, which detailed the deployment. Reuters reviewed the reports on condition it did not name the country.
As of Thursday morning, there are more than 90 Chinese ships operating in the region, coming down from more than 100 at one point earlier this week, the documents showed.
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The operations exceed China’s mass naval deployment in December last year that prompted Taiwan to raise its alert level, the sources said.
Tsai Ming-yen, director-general of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, said on Wednesday that China is now in what is generally the most active season for its military drills.
As of Wednesday morning, China has four naval formations operating in the western Pacific, and Taiwan is keeping tabs on them, Tsai said, without giving details.