SouthernWorldwide.com – In the week following President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, Taiwan’s National Security Council has reported a significant Chinese military presence in the waters surrounding the island.
Joseph Wu, the Secretary General of Taiwan’s National Security Council, stated on Saturday that intelligence indicated the People’s Republic of China (PRC) had deployed over 100 vessels within the First Island Chain. This deployment occurred shortly after the summit concluded.
Wu expressed his concerns on the social media platform X, emphasizing that China is the sole cause of instability in the region. He stated, “In this part of the world, China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the Status Quo & threatening regional peace & stability.”
Accompanying his statement, Wu shared a graphic that visually represented a substantial number of Chinese vessel movements. The graphic appeared to map deployments across the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and in proximity to Taiwan and the Philippines.
This alert from Wu comes just over a week after President Trump’s departure from Beijing. It also follows closely on the heels of an announcement made by the Acting U.S. Navy Secretary, Hung Cao, to U.S. lawmakers regarding a temporary halt in weapons shipments to Taiwan.
During a Tuesday hearing before the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, Cao explained the rationale behind the pause. He testified, “Right now we’re doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury.”
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Earlier in January, U.S. lawmakers had approved a weapons package valued at $14 billion for sale to Taiwan. However, this package was still awaiting President Trump’s final approval at the time of these reports.
According to The Associated Press, Taiwanese officials indicated that they had not received prior notification about any potential pauses in weapons shipments.
The announcement of the pause by Secretary Cao came after the Trump-Xi summit, where Chinese officials made it unequivocally clear that the issue of Taiwan is the most critical concern in China’s diplomatic relationship with the United States.
Following the bilateral meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning issued a statement. Ning conveyed, “President Xi stressed to President Trump that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations.”
She further elaborated on the potential consequences, stating, “If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy.”
