China conducts surprise military exercises in the Western Pacific and around Taiwan

In early November, China conducted major military exercises without prior announcement in the Western Pacific and around Taiwan, in what officials in Taipei described as a “silent intimidation” campaign aimed at pressuring the island and other governments before major international meetings, according to what was reported by the “Reuters” news agency.

A senior Taiwanese security official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said that the Chinese army and coast guard at one point deployed more than 100 ships in the region early this month, and conducted exercises that included simulated attacks on armies and cities, including Taiwan.

The official added that this naval deployment was larger than “Mission Justice 2025,” which is the last exercise officially given by China, which targeted Taiwan about a year ago, and is considered one of the largest Chinese naval deployments to date.

The exercises were held as China escalated its military pressure over the past five years, drawing condemnations from Taipei and increasing concern in Western capitals about the potential for conflict. Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory.

Yesterday, Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered an important political speech on Taiwan, in which he urged peaceful “reunification” and did not mention the use of force.

The Taiwanese official said that during the latest exercises, a Chinese submarine launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from the Yellow Sea towards the Chinese mainland.

He added: “This is a silent maneuver - in fact, it is silent intimidation.”

Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Kuo said this week that China was conducting “area denial” exercises in the western Pacific Ocean involving an aircraft carrier and other naval formations.

Beijing will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (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 is also participating in the summit.

A foreign intelligence source said that the “silent, nameless exercises” appear to be intentional, given that China has not issued a public announcement about them, allowing Beijing to exert military pressure while avoiding a violent diplomatic reaction.

The source added to Reuters that China usually conducts its exercises in the second half of the year, when the weather is calmer.

On Wednesday, gunmen attacked a police convoy that was heading to an illegal gold mining site in northwestern Pakistan, killing 10 police officers, according to officials, while 18 gunmen were killed in the clashes that followed, according to police.

A statement issued by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province Police in Pakistan said that police officers were returning from a mine in the Gombat area of ​​Kohat Province when they were fired upon by gunmen. He added that in addition to the killing of 10 police officers and 18 militants, 12 police officers were wounded.

Following the clashes, the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a series of attacks across the country, including an attack targeting a police convoy in the Gombat district. Earlier, a local official told Agence France-Presse that the gunmen set fire to two police vehicles during the attack, while two other police vehicles and a private car were lost.

Another official in Orakzai district of Kohat said that 10 militants belonging to the Pakistani Taliban were killed during a separate operation in the district, adding that a large quantity of weapons were also seized from the possession of the militants.

Security forces in the border region are facing an escalation in armed attacks that Pakistan says are emanating from Afghan territory, while the Afghan Taliban government denies this.

A spokesman for a local emergency authority had reported earlier on Wednesday that there had been a “shooting incident involving police officers” in the Kohat area, noting that rescue teams were working to treat about 12 injured policemen.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been tense since the Taliban came to power in 2021, and the crisis worsened following border clashes that caused deaths in October last year, leading to the border being almost completely closed.

Although the pace of clashes decreased following mediation efforts, the conflict worsened in February with Pakistan declaring “open war” against its neighbor. Hundreds of civilians have been killed as a result of the battles between the two countries since October last year, according to figures from the United Nations mission in Afghanistan.

Earlier this month, gunmen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province killed two police officers who were assigned to protect a polio vaccination team while it was traveling near the Afghan border. A state of emergency was declared in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province last month in a move justified by the authorities as a response to the state government's failure to take action against the insurgency.

The imposition of these emergency measures led to the marginalization of the last stronghold of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, led by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

These exceptional constitutional measures led to a large-scale campaign across the state against Imran Khan’s supporters, resulting in the arrest of hundreds of them.