Taiwan ramps up coast guard and military readiness in face of Beijing's 'gray zone' warfare

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan - Taiwan’s seashore defender and affiliated subject units enactment connected a amusement of spot during an "Ocean Day" drill past week amid increasing threats from China.

Held successful confederate Taiwan’s largest city, Kaohsiung, the workout was overseen by Taiwan President William Lai, and portion framed arsenic demonstrations of hunt and rescue and anti-terrorism abilities, determination was nary escaping the larger crushed wherefore Taiwan is strengthening frontline defenses and operational readiness. 

Alongside the navy, Taiwan’s seashore defender is undergoing modernization. On show during the Ocean Day workout was 1 of Taiwan’s caller Anping-class corvettes, stealth-capable vessels with surface-to-land rocket systems, and, naturally, precocious rescue capabilities.

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Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, center, walks earlier an offshore anti-terrorism drill astatine the Kaohsiung harbor successful Kaohsiung, confederate Taiwan connected Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

This each comes arsenic Taiwan’s apical weapons developer precocious announced they had developed assorted caller oversea drones – including alleged "kamikaze" oregon termination drones. An anonymous authoritative claimed Taiwan’s subject volition trial the oversea drones successful waters disconnected Southern Taiwan this August. 

Defense Minister Wellington Koo confirmed precocious past period that the navy of independently-ruled Taiwan will soon adhd unmanned aboveground vehicles, portion the service is acceptable to inaugurate its archetypal drone units this year. Reports accidental Taiwan produced astir 10,000 drones past year, and this twelvemonth plans to bargain 3,000+ much made by section companies for subject use. 

In remarks pursuing the Ocean Day exercise, Lai urged Taiwan’s lawmakers to backmost his administration’s latest defence spending proposals and told the radical of prime guests that included the highest-ranking American authoritative based successful Southern Taiwan, Neil Gibson, that the substance was astir much than conscionable ships and hardware.

"It’s astir nationalist resilience." 

Members of Taiwan's seashore defender enactment successful an offshore anti-terrorism drill astatine the Kaohsiung harbor successful Kaohsiung, confederate Taiwan, connected Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

Taiwanese authorities officials often denounce what they word arsenic escalating "gray zone" warfare from Beijing, actions specified arsenic harassing sportfishing vessels, amerciable incursions, and, connected astatine slightest 1 occasion, boarding a Taiwan-flagged civilian ferry. Taiwan sees these actions arsenic Chinese attempts to make a "new normal" of uncontested power of the astir 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait that separates the 2 sides.

Taiwan’s seashore defender is dwarfed by the increasing Chinese seashore guard, which is already the largest successful the satellite successful presumption of the fig and size of vessels. Last year, according to statistic provided to Fox News Digital by Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, Taiwan’s seashore defender drove distant 1,196 vessels from Taiwanese waters – 1,135 of which were from China. 

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Lai said determination is an urgent request for upgraded infrared surveillance to alteration round-the-clock maritime monitoring, arsenic good arsenic different tech that could combat Chinese tactics that see amerciable soil dredging, cyber disruptions and adjacent sabotage of undersea cables, actions deliberately chosen to enactment beneath the threshold of "acts of war."

Ross Darrell Feingold, a lawyer and governmental hazard expert based successful Taipei, told Fox News Digital that Lai’s calls for bipartisanship originate from the president’s enactment not presently holding a bulk successful Taiwan’s Parliament, which volition marque the transition of his projected $13.6 cardinal USD "special budget" overmuch much difficult.

A Chinese PLA J-16 combatant pitchy flies to an undisclosed location. China’s subject sent 71 planes, including J16 combatant jets, and 7 ships toward Taiwan successful a 24-hour show of unit directed astatine the island, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Monday, Dec. 26, 2022. (Taiwan Ministry of Defense via AP)

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Beijing’s communist authorities stubbornly claims Taiwan arsenic its territory contempt ne'er having governed it for a azygous day, and successful caller years, removed connection calling for a "peaceful settlement" successful authoritative statements. One wide quoted assertion claims Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered the Chinese subject to beryllium acceptable to invade Taiwan by 2027, present little than 2 years away.