China’s navy tweaking tactics to undercut Taiwan’s defenses

This article first appeared on Pacific Forum and is republished with kind permission. Read the original here.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) has consistently published records of Chinese naval and air force activities for several years, enabling the world to realize the military situation on the Taiwan Strait.

However, since the MND provides illustrative diagrams of the People’s Liberation Army air activities and aircraft types, most observers have focused primarily on the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) maneuvers around Taiwan. Consequently, the maneuvers of the People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) have been relatively underexplored and, in some cases, even overlooked.

A comprehensive scrutiny of PLAN activities around Taiwan reveals significant adjustments in China’s naval operations this year, aimed at further undermining Taiwan’s maritime defense capabilities.

Key observations include the daily deployment of PLAN vessels, the activity of PLAN shipborne anti-submarine helicopters, and the expansion of PLAN operations in the Yonaguni Channel (the waters between Su’ao, Yilan, and Yonaguni Island).

First, the daily number of PLAN vessels has increased, significantly depleting the combat readiness of Taiwan’s navy. This surge has forced Taiwan to delay its fleet’s maintenance schedule, inevitably shortening the lifespan of these aging combat ships. The following figure, derived from press releases by MND, shows the trend in the number of PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan.

To specifically analyze the extent of pressure exerted by PLAN on Taiwan, this study establishes two comparative categories: the deployment of 5-9 vessels and the deployment of 10 or more vessels. Reviewing the daily number