KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan – Taiwan’s coast guard and affiliated military units put on a show of strength during an “Ocean Day” drill last week amid growing threats from China.

Held in southern Taiwan’s largest city, Kaohsiung, the exercise was overseen by Taiwan President William Lai, and while framed as demonstrations of search and rescue and anti-terrorism abilities, there was no escaping the larger reason why Taiwan is strengthening frontline defenses and operational readiness. 

Alongside the navy, Taiwan’s coast guard is undergoing modernization. On display during the Ocean Day exercise was one of Taiwan’s new Anping-class corvettes, stealth-capable vessels with surface-to-land missile systems, and, naturally, advanced rescue capabilities.

Lai said there is an urgent need for upgraded infrared surveillance to enable round-the-clock maritime monitoring, as well as other tech that could combat Chinese tactics that include illegal sand dredging, cyber disruptions and even sabotage of undersea cables, actions deliberately chosen to stay below the threshold of “acts of war.”

Ross Darrell Feingold, a lawyer and political risk analyst based in Taipei, told Fox News Digital that Lai’s calls for bipartisanship arise from the president’s party not currently holding a majority in Taiwan’s Parliament, which will make the passage of his proposed $13.6 billion USD “special budget” much more difficult.

A Chinese PLA J-16 fighter jet flies to an undisclosed location. China’s military sent 71 planes, including J16 fighter jets, and seven ships toward Taiwan in a 24-hour display of force directed at the island, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Monday, Dec. 26, 2022. (Taiwan Ministry of Defense via AP)

“This proposed spending would go to the coast guard, the military, and be used to assist domestic industries affected by higher U.S. tariffs,” said Feingold, who noted that the Trump administration should have no issues with selling weapons to Taiwan.

Since he took office on May 20, 2024, Lai has increased defense spending within the limits of what he can do while not holding a majority in Parliament. 

Beijing’s communist government stubbornly claims Taiwan as its territory despite never having governed it for a single day, and in recent years, removed language calling for a “peaceful settlement” in official statements. One widely quoted assertion claims Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered the Chinese military to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, now less than two years away.