China just made its boldest move yet, launching a live-fire drill just 40 miles off Taiwan’s coast, and Taiwan is scrambling. Beijing didn’t even bother giving advance notice—Taiwan only found out after local ships were suddenly warned away. The drills, taking place dangerously close to Taiwan’s key port city of Kaohsiung, involved 32 Chinese military aircraft conducting exercises alongside warships. Taiwan’s defense ministry is calling it a blatant provocation and a major threat to regional security—and they’re absolutely right.
This isn’t an isolated incident. China’s military is flexing its muscles all over the Indo-Pacific. Just this month, they’ve run live-fire drills off Vietnam’s coast and between New Zealand and Australia, forcing commercial flights to change course. Now, they’re bringing the heat to Taiwan’s doorstep at the same time Chinese Communist Party officials are ramping up their rhetoric on “reunification.”
Xi Jinping has been clear for years—he will take Taiwan by force if necessary. And now, with the world distracted, Beijing is moving the chess pieces into place. Just one day before the drills, Taiwan’s coast guard detained a Chinese crew that allegedly severed an undersea fiber optic cable connecting Taiwan and Penghu. Was that a test run? A warning shot? A sign that China is preparing to cut Taiwan off from the world before making its move?
Taiwan split from China in 1949, and the island has been a thriving democracy ever since. But Beijing still calls it a “rebel province”, and Xi’s latest actions prove that the CCP is done waiting. The U.S. has long supported Taiwan’s independence—but will Washington act if Beijing makes its move?
This isn’t just about Taiwan. It’s about China testing how much it can get away with. If the world lets this slide, what comes next?
