China’s latest naval exercises have shown how far it can project power

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In the last two weeks, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China conducted live-fire naval drills in the international waters off Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam, and shooting drills in the Taiwan Strait. This show of military might is a sign of China’s growing confidence as a maritime power.

It’s also a signal to its closest neighbours that they’ll have to start relying on each other, or boost their own defences beyond their original calculations. They can’t expect to depend on the US for backup. US President Donald Trump’s message to the world is clear: Do things for yourself first, and then we might help you —if it suits us.

In just the first month of his term, his team has told Europe that it needs to pay more for its own security, lectured allies on democracy and pulled funding from America’s aid and development programmes. As Washington retreats from the international stage, Beijing is advancing—militarily at least. China now has the world’s largest maritime fighting force, with 234 vessels compared to the US Navy’s 219.

It is also producing more warships at a faster pace; about 70% were launched after 2010, compared to 25% for the US Navy. While China’s vessels aren’t necessarily superior—yet—the US Office of Naval Intelligence assessed in 2020 that its ships were increasingly of comparable quality. Last year, Beijing also passed the milestone of achieving more than 50% of the US Navy’s firepower in vertical launch system missile cells on its surface ships.

This will allow Beijing to take more advanced weapon systems further out into the world’s oceans. The recent Chinese drills took place in international waters and are permissible under international law. The US Navy