The Taiwanese security chief has claimed that the Chinese military's exercises around the First Island Chain pose simultaneous threats to Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines.
On October 29, Taiwanese media, including the Liberty Times, reported that National Security Council Secretary-General Wu Zhaoxie stated via X (formerly Twitter) that China's first aircraft carrier, Liaoning (CV-16), is conducting large-scale naval drills in the waters east of the First Island Chain.
The First Island Chain is an imaginary maritime defense line connecting Japan's Kuril Islands, Okinawa, Taiwan, the Philippines, and the Malacca Strait. It is considered a key military strategy established by China to counter U.S. maritime control in the western Pacific and to secure military influence in the region.
Wu emphasized, "We (Taiwan) are maintaining a high state of alert," adding, "It is clear that this threatens Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines simultaneously."
According to materials released by Wu, the drills involve naval units from three of China's five military theaters: the Northern Theater (covering Northeast China), the Eastern Theater (covering Taiwan), and the Southern Theater (covering the South China Sea). Additionally, vessels from the China Coast Guard (CCG), Maritime Safety Administration (MSA), and maritime law enforcement ships (RSB), which have been involved in so-called 'gray zone tactics' (military actions aimed at achieving security objectives through low-level provocations), also participated.
China has deployed these vessels from western Kyushu in Japan to the waters east of the First Island Chain in the Philippine Sea. The Liaoning carrier group has been positioned in the Philippine Sea, while naval ships have been sent to the northwestern, southwestern, and eastern waters of Taiwan, and public vessels have been deployed in the eastern waters of Taiwan.
Previously, in May and June of last year, China conducted its first 'dual aircraft carrier' drills using the Liaoning and the second aircraft carrier, Shandong, maneuvering in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, South China Sea, and western Pacific. During those exercises, they even crossed the Second Island Chain, which connects Japan's Ogasawara Islands to Guam.
The Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense has analyzed that China is pouring 110 billion yuan (approximately $15.5 billion) into Pacific training, which accounts for 7% of its total defense budget, in an attempt to gain control over the waters inside the First Island Chain, including the Taiwan Strait. The Taiwanese government has criticized these military activities by China for exacerbating regional instability.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te, who also chairs the Democratic Progressive Party, emphasized during a party central executive committee meeting that China's interference in Taiwan's elections is becoming more complex, extending beyond traditional political propaganda to include artificial intelligence (AI), transnational repression, and cyber warfare.
Lai further stated, "China's goal in interfering with Taiwan's elections is not only to change the voting results but also to incite social divisions through the dissemination of false messages and to undermine public trust in democratic institutions." He called for measures to block cognitive warfare and attempts to interfere in elections through organized crime or local collaborators.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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