China’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian. File
| Photo Credit: AP

This handout photo taken by Japan’s Ministry of Defence on September 11, 2025 and received via Jiji Press on September 12, 2025 shows China’s third and newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, sailing in the East China Sea.
| Photo Credit: AFP

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meets with his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani (not pictured) on the day of their talks at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo, Japan on December 10, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

China’s “coercive behaviour” threatens regional stability, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday, after Taiwan said Beijing was carrying out its biggest maritime mobilisation around the self-ruled island in years.

The Pentagon chief is in Tokyo on what will likely be his last official Asia-Pacific trip, as the United States and Japan prepare for a new era shaped by incoming president Donald Trump’s protectionist policies.

Trump, who will be sworn in next month, hopes to replace Austin with Pete Hegseth, a former military officer and Fox News presenter.

“Now we’re clear-eyed about the challenges to peace and stability in this region and worldwide,” Austin said as he met his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani on Tuesday evening.

“That includes coercive behavior by the People’s Republic of China in the East China Sea and the South China Sea and elsewhere in the region,” Mr. Austin said.

“It includes Russia’s reckless war of choice in Ukraine, and it includes the DPRK (North Korea) support for Moscow’s war, as well as its other destabilising and provocative activities,” he added.

Mr. Austin, who is on his 13th trip to Asia as defence secretary, vowed that “America’s extended deterrence commitment to Japan and to the Republic of Korea is ironclad”, adding that the “US-Japan alliance has never been stronger”.

He did not mention Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims, directly in his remarks.

Earlier in the day, a senior Taiwanese security official said nearly 90 Chinese naval and coast guard ships were in waters along the so-called first island chain, which links Japan’s Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines.

China regards Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out using force to bring it under its control.

At the meeting on Tuesday, Japan’s Defence Minister said the regional security situation was “growing ever more severe”.

Nakatani also praised Mr. Austin for his initiative in “strengthening and cementing the deterrence of the Japan-US alliance”.

Around 54,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed in Japan, mostly in Okinawa, east of Taiwan.

Protectionism

“These are very dynamic times,” Mr. Austin told Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at a separate meeting earlier on Tuesday.

“May our alliance remain the cornerstone of peace and stability in this region for the foreseeable future.”

Analysts predict that Trump’s protectionism will mean less cash from Washington for security in the region, with investors betting on Japan upgrading its own military capacities.

The country is already in the process of doubling its military spending to the NATO standard of two percent of GDP.

Having for decades relied on the United States for military hardware, Japan is also developing a new fighter jet with EU member Italy and Britain which is set to be airborne by 2035.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief declaration of martial law last week, and the ensuing political turmoil, reportedly led to a planned Seoul leg being cut from Austin’s itinerary.

This “significantly undercut” the value of his Asia trip, Daisuke Kawai, deputy director of the University of Tokyo’s economic security research programme, told AFP, citing a lost last-minute chance for Washington to solidify its ties with the pair.

But the outgoing defence chief’s trip remains a chance for Washington to assure its closest ally that it “won’t abandon Japan even after Trump swings back to power”, Kawai said.

Tokyo was also keen to strengthen ties to “leave Trump less room for a policy change”, he added.

This handout from China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command released on October 14, 2024, shows a map of locations of the “Joint Sword-2024B” military drills being conducted by China around Taiwan.
| Photo Credit: AFP/ China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command

China was holding large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan and its outlying islands on Monday (October 14, 2024).

China’s Defense Ministry said the drills were a response to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s refusal to concede to Beijing’s demands that Taiwan acknowledge itself as a part of the People’s Republic of China under the rule of the Communist Party.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry called the drills a provocation and said its forces were prepared to respond.

Mr. Lai took office in May 2024, continuing the eight-year rule of the Democratic Progressive Party that rejects China’s demand that it recognize Taiwan is a part of China. China routinely states that Taiwan independence is a “dead end” and that annexation by Beijing is a historical inevitability.

Three crew members from a Chinese fishing boat were missing on Saturday (August 17, 2024) after their ship collided with an unidentified vessel and sank off the coast of a Taiwanese island, Taiwan’s coast guard said.

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and relations between the two have deteriorated in recent years.

Also Read:Where do China-Taiwan relations stand? | Explained

A series of fishing boat incidents occurring along the narrow waterway separating Taiwan and China have heightened tensions.

The latest incident occurred early on Saturday when the Chinese-flagged boat “Min Long Yu 60877” sank after crashing into an unidentified vessel about 6.5 nautical miles off the coast of the Kinmen islands, Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said in a statement.

“There were seven crew members on board. Four were rescued and three were missing,” it said.

It said a patrol boat sent to the area could not find the missing crew.

“Those who fell into the sea were not found.” The statement said Taiwan’s coast guard and its Chinese counterparts were carrying out “an expanded search and rescue” in nearby waters.

Kinmen county is administered by Taiwan but is located just five kilometres (three miles) from the Chinese coastal city of Xiamen.

A fatal incident involving a Chinese boat near Kinmen on February 14 kicked off a months-long row between Taiwan and China.

A boat capsized while it was being pursued by Taiwan’s coast guard, killing two Chinese crew members, for which Beijing blamed Taipei.

The two sides reached an agreement in July after negotiations over the incident, agreeing that the cause of death was “drowning”.

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te visits soldiers and air force personnel in Hualien, Taiwan May 28, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said on June 22 it had detected 41 Chinese military aircraft around the island in a 24-hour window, a day after Beijing said “diehard” advocates of Taiwan’s independence could face the death penalty.

China claims self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it would never renounce the use of force to bring it under Beijing’s control.

It has stepped up pressure on Taipei in recent years and held war games around the island following last month’s inauguration of new Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te.

On June 22, Taipei’s Defence Ministry said it had detected 41 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels operating around Taiwan during the 24-hour period leading up to 6:00 a.m. (2200 GMT).

“32 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait,” the Ministry said in a statement, referring to a line bisecting the 180-kilometre (110-mile) waterway that separates Taiwan from China.

The Ministry added that it had “monitored the situation and responded accordingly”.

The latest incursion came after China published judicial guidelines Friday that included the death penalty for “particularly serious” cases of “diehard” supporters of Taiwanese independence, state media reported.

On May 25, Taiwan detected 62 Chinese military aircraft around the island in a 24-hour window, the highest single-day total this year, as China staged military drills following the inauguration of Lai, who Beijing regards as a “dangerous separatist”.

Taiwanese armoured vehicles roll down a street in Kinmen on May 24, 2024. China warned on May 24 that Taiwan’s leadership was pushing the self-ruled island into “a perilous situation of war and danger” and that it would go “further” if provoked, as Beijing conducted military drills around the territory.
| Photo Credit: AFP

China ended two days of war games around Taiwan, in which it simulated attacks with bombers and practiced boarding ships, and Taiwan’s defence ministry detailed on Saturday the surge of Chinese warplanes and warships involved.

Chinese State television’s military channel said late on Friday the drills had concluded. A commentary in the official People’s Liberation Army Daily said they had lasted for two days from Thursday to Friday, as previously announced.

China’s Defence Ministry did not answer calls seeking comment on Saturday.

China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, launched the “Joint Sword – 2024A” exercises three days after Lai Ching-te became Taiwan’s President, a man Beijing says is a “separatist”.

Beijing said the exercises were “punishment” for Mr. Lai’s Monday inauguration speech, in which he said the two sides of the Taiwan Strait were “not subordinate to each other”, which China viewed as a declaration the two are separate countries.

Mr. Lai has repeatedly offered talks with China but been rebuffed. He says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future, and rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims. Taiwan’s government has condemned the drills and said it will not be cowed by Chinese pressure.

On Friday 46 Chinese military planes crossed the Taiwan Strait’s median line, which previously served as an unofficial barrier between the two sides, Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday. It said it had detected a total of 62 Chinese aircraft and 27 navy ships.

The aircraft, including advanced Su-30 fighters and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, flew in the strait as well as down into the Bashi Channel, which separates Taiwan from the Philippines, the ministry said.

On Friday it published footage taken by Taiwanese air force planes of a Chinese J-16 fighter and an H-6 but did not say exactly where it was taken.

China has over the past four years regularly staged military activities around Taiwan, including large-scale war games in 2022 and in 2023.

The People’s Liberation Army Daily commentary, published as “the voice of the military”, said Mr. Lai was determined to act as a “pawn” for external forces to curb China’s development.

“If Taiwan independence separatist forces insist on going their own way or even take risks, the PLA will obey orders and take decisive action to resolutely smash all separatist plots,” it said.

Updated – May 24, 2024 12:04 pm IST

Published – May 24, 2024 11:28 am IST – BEIJING

In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Chinese vessels are seen near Taiwan on Thursday, May 23, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

The Chinese military sent bombers carrying live missiles on Friday to conduct mock strikes in its Taiwan drills, state television CCTV said.

The bombers of the eastern theatre command of the People’s Liberation Army set up several attack formations in waters east of Taiwan, carrying out mock attacks in co-ordination with naval vessels, it added.

In this undated file photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of Defense, a Chinese PLA J-16 fighter jet flies in an undisclosed location.
| Photo Credit: AP

Taiwan reported renewed Chinese military activity near the island on April 27 with 12 aircraft crossing the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait, a day after U.S. Secretary State Antony Blinken ended a visit to China.

The United States is Taiwan’s most important international supporter and arms supplier despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties. Blinken said he had stressed the “critical importance” of maintaining peace and stability across the strait while in China.

Also read | Chinese General takes a harsh line on Taiwan and other disputes at an international naval gathering

Democratically governed Taiwan has faced increased military pressure from China, which views the island as its own territory. Taiwan’s government rejects those claims.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said that from 9:30 a.m. (0130 GMT) on Saturday it had detected 22 Chinese military aircraft, including Su-30 fighters, of which 12 had crossed the median line to Taiwan’s north and centre.

The line once served as an unofficial border between the two sides over which neither sides’ military crossed, but China’s air force now regularly sends aircraft over it. China says it does not recognise the line’s existence.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said the aircraft were involved in “joint combat readiness patrols” with Chinese warships, adding that Taiwanese aircraft and ships responded “appropriately”. It did not give details.

China’s defence ministry did not answer calls seeking comment outside of office hours on Saturday.

Taiwan’s armed forces are well-equipped and well-trained but dwarfed by those of China’s, especially the navy and air force, which respond almost daily to Chinese missions.

China considers Taiwan the most important issue in its relations with the United States, and Beijing has repeatedly demanded Washington end weapons sales to Taiwan.

Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te takes office on May 20 after winning January’s election. Beijing considers him a dangerous separatist and has rebuffed his repeated calls for talks.

Mr. Lai said on Thursday that China should have the confidence to talk to Taiwan’s legally elected government. Like outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen, Mr. Lai says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future