China has deployed an unusually large naval armada across the East Asian region, stretching from the Korean Peninsula to waters near the Philippines, in what analysts believe may be the most extensive Chinese maritime buildup ever recorded.
According to a report published by Reuters on Thursday, based on Western and Asian intelligence assessments, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy deployed as many as 100 warships at its peak earlier this week before reducing to around 90 vessels by Thursday. The deployment reportedly spans the Western Pacific, the South China Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea. The operation includes destroyers, frigates, and coast guard units executing coordinated maneuvers across multiple contested zones.
Unlike China’s past unannounced drills, the current mobilization has not been declared publicly by Beijing and is being conducted under full radio silence. Military analysts argue that this lack of official messaging may be intended as a demonstration of normalizing Chinese military presence rather than portraying the moves as a temporary exercise.
The timing of the deployment comes amid heightened tensions with Japan following remarks from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who stated that Japan would defend Taiwan in the event of a war with China. Takaichi later softened her position after a phone call between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, with media reports suggesting that Trump privately urged Tokyo to lower its rhetoric to avoid escalation.
This surge in military activity caps a year of rapid naval expansion for China, which now possesses the world’s largest navy by total number of ships, standing at roughly 390 vessels. In contrast, the U.S. Navy has fallen below 300 ships and is expected to continue shrinking. Recent analyses published in Washington and at U.S. think tanks increasingly acknowledge that the United States may no longer hold clear naval superiority in a regional conflict with China, raising concerns among American allies that a future war could become a prolonged and costly stalemate.