China has escalated its aggressive military manoeuvres closer to self-governed Taiwan, deploying over 100 naval, coast guard, and maritime militia vessels closer to the island nation, but chose to oppose the US military deployments in Japan, closer to its own territorial waters.
Just days after US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met and discussed the Taiwan issue during their summit meeting, China’s military deployments from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and Western Pacific have raised the hackles of Taipei, with its security chief raising concerns over Beijing’s naval action.
“In this part of the world,#China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability,” Taiwan’s National Security Council chief Joseph Wu said on X. China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to seize it.
Wu’s remarks came after Trump on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) referred to “the Taiwan problem” when asked if he would speak to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te about arms sales to the democratic island.
“I’ll speak to him (Lai). 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 said.
An unnamed Taiwan security official said Chinese vessels had been detected before the summit in Beijing, but that the number had risen above 100 in recent days.
Meanwhile, the US said its arms sales to Taiwan took years to process and were unrelated to the Iran war, even as a senior Pentagon official said there was a pause in weapon supplies to Taipei to meet the West Asian military conflict needs.
Taiwan has been waiting for the US to approve an arms sale worth $14 billion, as Trump injected uncertainty after he met with Xi, noting that his administration was undecided on the package’s approval.
On Thursday (May 21), US Navy Secretary Hung Cao told a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing that the Trump administration had paused the arms sales to Taiwan to ensure the American armed forces had enough supplies for Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
However, an unnamed US administration official told the Western media that Trump was likely to decide on the Taiwan supplies soon. “These sales take years to process and are unrelated to Operation Epic Fury,” the official said, referring to the US-Israel war on Iran that began on February 28.
“The United States Military has more than enough munitions, ammo, and stockpiles to serve all of President Trump’s strategic goals and beyond,” the official was quoted as saying.
Reacting to the reports, Taiwan said on Friday (May 22) that it had recieved no information about the delays in the US arms sales. While China has repeatedly called for the US to stop weapon supplies to Taipei, Taiwan has rejected Beijing’s sovereignty claims over the island nation, saying only the Taiwanese people could decide their fate.
In affairs relating to Japan, China expressed its opposition to the US deployment of a mid-range missile system there, claiming it threatened regional security and risked military confrontation and an arms race in the region.
“It is detrimental to regional peace and stability in every way,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press conference when asked about a report that the US military plans to deploy its Typhon midrange missile launcher to southwestern Japan for joint drills between June and September.
In Tokyo, the Defense Ministry said the Typhon and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, would be mobilised at the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Kanoya Air Base in Kagoshima Prefecture during the joint exercises between Japan and the United States, in a move apparently aimed at deterring China. After the joint exercises, the Typhon and HIMARS systems would be moved to a US military base in Japan.
The Typhon launcher is capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of about 1,600 kilometers, as well as SM-6 interceptor missiles with a range exceeding 300 km. The HIMARS can carry up to six rockets or one Army Tactical Missile System, with a range of about 300 km.