Taiwan’s security chief said Saturday that China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard, and other vessels in regional waters stretching from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and the western Pacific.
The deployment took place in the past few days following U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, National Security Council chief Joseph Wu said on X.
“In this part of the world, China is the one and only problem wrecking the status quo and threatening regional peace and stability,” Wu wrote.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has repeatedly threatened to use force to seize the self-ruled island.
Wu’s remarks came after Trump on Wednesday referred to “the Taiwan problem” when asked whether he would speak to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te about arms sales to Taiwan.
“I’ll speak to him. I speak to everybody,” Trump said, adding that he had a “great meeting” with Xi during his state visit.
“We’ll work on that, the Taiwan problem,” Trump added.
A Taiwanese security official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said Chinese vessels had already been detected before the Beijing summit, but that the number had risen above 100 in recent days.
