While most of the world’s focus has been on Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Gaza lately, China’s President Xi Jinping has been almost preternaturally quiet. And when one of the world’s most autocratic leaders fades into the background, even for a short time, I get nervous . . . like when there is no sound coming from your children’s room while they’re entertaining friends. You just know something is up.
The one bit of news out of China in the last couple of days has to do with live-fire drills being held this week in five maritime areas, making Taiwan understandably nervous. These include the Bohai Sea from Monday to Friday, the northern Yellow Sea on Monday, the South China Sea from Monday to Friday, the southern Yellow Sea from Friday to Saturday, and the East China Sea from Tuesday to Thursday. [Taiwan News, October 12, 2026.]
Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo stated his opposition to the drills, condemning what he referred to as the “repeated exercises and military activities” across the Indo-Pacific area and saying they create insecurity in the region. He added that Taiwan’s military would be closely monitoring the situation . . . hardly surprising in light of China’s stated intention of taking control of the island nation.
Interestingly, next Monday, October 19th, marks the beginning of ten days of scheduled joint drills, held biennially, between Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military, during which the U.S. plans to deploy anti-ship missiles to Japan’s Yonaguni Island, near Taiwan. [Id.]
Beijing only gave notice of this week’s drills five days in advance, on October 8th. Are they indeed routine exercises? Or are they intended to send a message in advance of the Japan-U.S. events? In either case — even in the absence of any specific threat being made — their proximity to Taiwan is understandably concerning.
And clearly, America’s deployment of missiles to Yonaguni Island is likewise not without significance.
The last thing the world needs right now — or ever — is another area of, shall we say, instability. Let’s hope the next two weeks remain peaceful . . . off the China coast at least. We’ll be watching.
Just sayin’ . . .
Brendochka
10/13/26
