China has deployed around 90 naval and coast guard ships in waters ranging from southern Japan's islands to the South China Sea. According to Taiwan defence officials, this is the largest deployment in nearly 30 years, as reported by VOA.

According to Taiwanese officials, this action 'appears to be a military exercise.' China has not yet addressed the movements or acknowledged that it is doing drills, as per VOA. "Beijing's operation is not only targeting Taipei but aimed at demonstrating its ability to prevent regional countries, including Japan and the Philippines, from coming to the island's defence," Taiwanese defence officials stated during Tuesday's regular news conference. "The current scale is the largest compared to the previous four [Chinese war games]," Taiwanese Defence Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang remarked. Taiwan's Defense Ministry said China is establishing two "walls" in the western Pacific, deploying a large number of vessels to the eastern end of Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone and an area farther out in the Pacific, in addition to refining its ability to block access to a wide swath around the island. 

"With these two walls, they are sending a clear message: The Taiwan Strait is their internal waters and cross-strait issues should be handled by the People's Liberation Army [PLA] and the People's Republic of China," Hsieh, a Taiwanese defence official, told journalists. Taiwan has been on alert for a possible Chinese military drill near the island since President Lai Ching-te began his first overseas trip to the Pacific, which included stops in Guam and Hawaii, both U.S. territories, on November 30. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to take control. However, most people in Taiwan firmly oppose joining authoritarian China, and support for unification is very low. Recently, Taiwan's defence ministry reported spotting 21 Chinese ships and 47 military aircraft near the island.

In response to the PLA's actions, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) started war-preparedness drills at key locations across the island. It is also working closely with the Coast Guard to take appropriate countermeasures. The Taiwan-China issue is a complex and long-standing geopolitical conflict about Taiwan's sovereignty. Although Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), runs its own government, military and economy, it acts as an independent state in practice.

Nonetheless, China maintains the "One China" policy, which maintains that there is only one China, with Beijing as its capital, and views Taiwan as a breakaway province. This has caused tension for decades, especially since the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949), when the ROC government moved to Taiwan after the Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong, took over mainland China.

Beijing has always aimed to reunify with Taiwan, applying diplomatic, economic and military pressure to isolate it globally. However, Taiwan, with strong support from many of its people, continues to uphold its independence.