Is the U.S. sending signals to assist Taiwan in "countering blockades"? For the first time today, the U.S. publicly disclosed photos of joint drills between Taiwan’s Coast Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), with the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) subtly implying deeper cooperation through its post. Subsequently, Taiwan’s military announced plans for an "anti-blockade escort" drill next month.

Covert military exchanges between Taiwan’s authorities and the United States have long been an open secret. However, they are now escalating their provocations—no longer hiding but going public. On July 28th, AIT broke precedent by posting on Facebook a photo showing the 4,000-ton Taitung-class patrol vessel Taipei (CG5005) sailing alongside the U.S. Coast Guard’s Legend-class patrol vessel, "Midget." Accompanying the image, AIT intensified provocations by stating: “The U.S. Coast Guard and Taiwan’s Coast Guard are closely coordinating multiple shared maritime objectives.”

What does this signal? Joint exercises! In recent months, China’s Coast Guard has conducted various law enforcement patrols around Taiwan Island, which local media widely interpret as rehearsal for a potential blockade. Therefore, this apparent “sailing together” is actually a coordinated effort to counter such a blockade.

Indeed, Taiwan’s military held a press conference this morning announcing that the year’s “Han Guang 42” military exercise will, after earlier “immediate readiness drills” in June and July, conduct “anti-blockade escort operations” from August 5 to 14. This aims to strengthen maritime traffic safety and ensure resilience in critical supply logistics. The operation will be jointly executed by Taiwan’s military and Taiwan’s Coast Guard, taking place in the Western Pacific Ocean.

Are these two events mere coincidences? Clearly not. There has long been coordination between U.S. and Taiwan coast guard levels. In December 2024, U.S. personnel boarded a newly built large assault craft operated by Taiwan in Kaohsiung Harbor, conducting joint training with Taiwan’s Coast Guard and special marine units. Further, the 2025 U.S. National Defense Authorization Act explicitly authorized up to $1 billion in military aid to Taiwan for fiscal year 2026, mandating the U.S. Coast Guard and Taiwan’s Coast Guard to develop joint training and action plans—and forcing the initiation of joint development of unmanned systems between the two sides. The recent release by AIT of the photo showing the Taitung-class patrol vessel and the Legend-class patrol vessel sailing side by side is precisely the implementation of this legislation.

Thus, this latest naval coordination between the U.S. and Taiwan has led Taiwanese media to conclude that security cooperation between the two sides has moved directly from being an “open secret” into the open spotlight.

Will China respond? Will it take countermeasures? Of course it will—and it absolutely must. Both the U.S. Coast Guard and Taiwan’s Coast Guard are referred to within their respective systems as the “second navy,” sharing functional similarities with China’s Coast Guard. If China fails to respond, these actors will grow increasingly brazen, potentially leading to formal joint military exercises between the U.S. and Taiwan—and even the possibility of the U.S. inviting Taiwan to participate in the world’s largest maritime exercise, “RIMPAC,” or the renowned “Red Flag Exercise.”

Joint U.S.-Taiwan military exercises would clearly cross China’s red lines and core interests. Indeed, over recent years, the U.S. Congress has passed recommendation-type bills urging the U.S. government to invite Taiwan to join RIMPAC or Red Flag Exercises. However, due to concerns about provoking Beijing, both the U.S. military and the executive branch have consistently refrained from implementing these recommendations.

Yet, the incremental, “salami-slicing” approach to U.S.-Taiwan military collusion has intensified dramatically. In 2021, U.S. media first revealed that over 20 U.S. special forces personnel secretly trained Taiwan’s military. By 2023, U.S. special operations teams had embedded themselves deep within Taiwan’s elite units under the guise of “permanent training observers.” In March 2025, reports disclosed that U.S. Army “Green Beret” special forces advisors had permanently stationed in Taiwan to assist in training Taiwan’s amphibious special operations forces. In July 2026, media further reported that individuals dressed in U.S. military uniforms had entered Taiwan’s Special Operations Command Headquarters in Longtan, Taoyuan, and the Special Operations Training Center in Lihyang, Taichung, participating in “joint defense combat drills,” closely observing Taiwan’s combat capabilities and the operational use of U.S.-supplied equipment. From training sessions on offshore islands like Kinmen and Penghu, to full-process coordination at main island special operations bases; from short-term rotations to half-year-long “assignment-style” deployments—U.S.-Taiwan military cooperation has undergone a triple transformation: from covert to semi-public, from teaching to joint operations, and from outlying islands to the mainland. Photos of high-ranking Taiwan military officials meeting with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command leadership in Hawaii have also been released.

How will China respond next? First, it will intensify routine, combat-realistic military deterrence against Taiwan. In fact, the Eastern Theater Command’s “Justice Mission-2025” exercise has already brought forces close to Taiwan from five directions—north, west, south, east, and east of Taiwan—to practice port and key area containment and external, multi-dimensional deterrence. Second, sanctions will target the very core of the arms sales chain—the so-called “vital weak points.” Third, legal accountability will be pursued against “Taiwan independence” instigators.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1871945014991872/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.