China massed more than 100 warships and coast guard vessels across the western Pacific and around Taiwan in early November, holding a large military exercise that Beijing never announced and Taiwanese officials have described as “silent intimidation.”
The exercise, which peaked in early November, was larger than “Justice Mission 2025,” China’s last formally named drills targeting Taiwan nearly a year ago, a senior Taiwan security official said. It drew coordinated naval forces from China’s eastern, northern and southern theatre commands, together with the Liaoning carrier strike group. About 70 vessels were still operating inside the first island chain on Friday, two Taiwan security officials said.
For readers, the exercise shows how quickly the balance of power in the western Pacific is shifting. It comes a week before Beijing hosts the APEC leaders’ summit in Shenzhen, where U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet. The drills let China apply heavy military pressure on Taiwan while leaving the door open to a diplomatic encounter.
What Taiwan saw
Taiwan’s defence ministry referred reporters to comments from minister Wellington Koo, who said China was carrying out “area denial” drills in the western Pacific involving an aircraft carrier and other naval formations. Taiwan National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu posted details on X late Thursday, saying the Northern, Eastern and Southern Theater Commands plus the Liaoning carrier strike group remained operating in waters east of the Philippines. Chinese air force activity near Taiwan stayed high.
The senior Taiwan official said the drills included simulated attacks on other militaries and on cities, including Taiwan’s. The scale, the official said, pointed to rehearsals for a Taiwan blockade and for broader operations across the western Pacific, and to an effort to integrate regional fleets into a single far-seas operational force.
In plain terms, “area denial” means using ships, submarines and missiles to keep an outside fleet away from a stretch of water. The goal is to make it too risky for a foreign navy to enter the area, without firing a shot.
The first island chain is the line of islands that runs from Japan through Taiwan and down to the Philippines. It is the boundary Chinese strategists refer to when they discuss the reach of their navy. The drills put roughly 70 vessels inside that line on Friday, a footprint that covered the waters east of Taiwan and the Philippines.
The Liaoning is China’s first aircraft carrier and the centerpiece of its carrier programme. The official said the carrier strike group was still operating east of the Philippines on Friday, along with the three theatre command groups.
Why the drills had no name
A foreign intelligence source said the “silent drills without a name” appeared deliberate, giving Beijing a way to apply military pressure while avoiding a diplomatic backlash. China’s defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Beijing has said the carrier is on “routine” exercises that are not directed at any country.
The state-backed Global Times wrote on Friday that if Taiwan’s ruling party persists in “seeking ‘independence by relying on external forces or military means,’ dragging the residents of Taiwan onto their war chariot, they will inevitably face a harsh reckoning.” The report cited the senior official and the intelligence source.
The APEC timing
Xi Jinping gave a major policy speech on Thursday about Taiwan, urging peaceful “reunification” while making no mention of using force. Beijing is hosting the APEC leaders’ summit in Shenzhen next week, where Trump and Xi are expected to meet for the third time this year. Taiwan also attends APEC.
The senior official said the exercise appeared aimed at pressuring Taiwan and other governments before these major international meetings. The Japan Times reported that the drills were larger than the 2025 exercise and involved a submarine-launched ballistic missile. China normally carries out large drills later in the year, when the weather is calmer, the foreign intelligence source said, which made the early-November timing stand out.
What ‘silent intimidation’ means
The senior Taiwan official offered an analogy for the unannounced exercise. “This is like a robber hiding a gun in the pocket of a coat — with the muzzle pointed at the bank teller,” the official said. “It scares the teller into handing over the money, while avoiding setting off the alarm and bringing in a large police response.”
During the drills, a Chinese submarine launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from the Yellow Sea into mainland China, the official said. The combination of a hidden exercise and a missile test, the official added, was the point: show the capability, keep the announcement quiet, and leave the other side to decide how to respond.
Did China announce the drills? No. The exercise had no public name or announcement, which is why officials called it “silent.” Taiwan’s defence ministry said it involved “area denial” drills with an aircraft carrier and other naval formations. China’s defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Why it matters now
The drills sit inside a wider pattern of pressure on Taiwan that has built over the past five years, and they come at a moment when the United States and China are trying to stabilise their relationship. The western Pacific is where that pressure is most visible, and the last time a U.S. carrier group operated in the South China Sea, it lost two aircraft in separate crashes within 30 minutes.
The number of vessels has decreased this week, but the groups remain in the water east of the Philippines, and Chinese air force activity near Taiwan remains high. With the APEC summit in Shenzhen next week and a possible Trump-Xi meeting on the agenda, the unannounced exercise has set the terms for the encounter before it begins. Check back for updates.
