A Taiwan security source has informed Reuters that China has nearly 90 navy and coast guard ships in waters near Taiwan and the surrounding region. In terms of warships, the number is reportedly nearly doubled from 8 to 14 over the weekend.
For some context, China has again stepped up activity surrounding Taiwan over the last month or so as part of its drills and wargames. The thing about all of this isn’t so much so what China is seen escalating. It is more so about what they are trying to normalise. This may be seen as China just doing China things but there might be a longer-term strategy to it.
For now, it is expected that China will be using this as an excuse as they carry out drills in the next week or so. But this will certainly be a more interesting spot when Trump takes over next year.