The Wall Street Journal reported on 19 June 2026 that China had maintained a near-constant naval encirclement of Taiwan since 2020, with its presence around the island having grown from a single patrolling warship to five or six warships positioned simultaneously off all sides, rotated roughly every two weeks to give a wider pool of crews operational experience in the area.
Chinese vessels had routinely conducted joint combat readiness patrols, pushing inside Taiwan’s 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone in a tactic security officials called “bumping the boundary,” which prompted Taiwanese naval and coast-guard vessels to shadow them in standoffs that had grown to last up to 48 hours. Taiwan had recorded 15 such patrols so far in 2026, following 40 in 2025.
Efforts Category: China’s Military Pressure against Taiwan
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