China’s coercion of Taiwan is not a new trend. For decades, the CPP has subjected Taiwan, its government, its people and its international partners to a range of coercive tactics aimed at unilaterally altering the status quo and fulfilling its longstanding ambition of annexation.  

Under Xi Jinping’s leadership, Beijing’s pressure campaign has intensified across multiple fronts: military and paramilitary coercion; economic coercion; interference and espionage; narrative and information warfare; cyberwarfare; diplomatic coercion; and lawfare. Much of this activity stays below the threshold of open conflict, carefully calibrated to avoid triggering a crisis that could escalate into war.

ASPI’s State of the Strait Substack tracks this pressure campaign, providing weekly updates on China’s coercive actions across all these areas. As this website focuses on China’s military coercion, this section examines Beijing’s military and paramilitary activities targeting Taiwan. It includes an overview of daily military activity around Taiwan, followed by a look at large-scale exercises conducted around Taiwan.