TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China’s maritime gray-zone activities, conducted under the guise of law enforcement, have become a regional challenge, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said in a Nikkei Asia interview.
“The threat posed by China is toward the whole region,” Wu said. He said intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance mapping showed a significant increase in Chinese navy and coast guard vessels operating across the first island chain, from Japan to Taiwan and down to the Philippines. Wu said China is also deploying research vessels, Maritime Safety Administration ships, and maritime militia vessels to maintain a persistent presence in the region.
“As China tries to intimidate its neighbors in this region, they blame the victims — Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines,” Wu said, per Nikkei Asia. “They blame Taiwan for being provocative when we are only trying to protect or safeguard what we already have, namely our freedom and sovereignty.”
Japan and the Philippines’ tensions with China have brought the two countries closer. The two countries signed a reciprocal access agreement for military cooperation in July 2024. Talks on intelligence sharing were announced in May to facilitate the transfer of destroyers and patrol aircraft from Japan to the Philippines. The two countries also participated in multilateral maritime drills with the US Navy last month.
“Warming ties between Japan and the Philippines are a natural reaction to Chinese expansionism,” Wu said. He added that Taiwan feels encouraged that nearby countries are taking China’s military threat more seriously than before.
Wu said that if conflict breaks out in the Taiwan Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, the global economy and tech supply chains would be affected because of Taiwan’s semiconductor and AI product exports, according to Nikkei Asia.
Wu said Taiwan is bearing the brunt of China’s hybrid warfare, including “disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, cognitive warfare and infiltration into our societies.” Global cooperation is “very necessary” to counter these activities, he added.
Aside from conventional arms, Taiwan needs to implement broad reforms, including drone personnel training, and integrate more drones into its defense, Wu said.
Meanwhile, Wu said Taipei is improving its approach to handling Chinese ships in and around its waters, Nikkei Asia reported. “Taiwan has already formed a mechanism across government agencies to counter China’s maritime expansionism,” he said.
Taiwan seeks to share information with more countries to form more coordinated responses, Wu said.
