China has allocated about $15.3 billion, or seven percent of its defense budget, for military exercises in the Western Pacific in 2023.

According to an unpublished estimate by the Taiwanese military, ReutersAs of 2018, China’s military activities in the Western Pacific included 1.7 million hours at sea and over 29,000 hours in the air.

This included more than 9,200 flights by Chinese aircraft and 70,000 naval voyages, using a wide range of military assets such as J-10 fighter jets, H-6 bombers, drones, aircraft carriers and destroyers. The report puts the total cost at 110 billion yuan ($15.3 billion), which includes expenses for fuel, maintenance, repairs and staff salaries.

This is part of China’s gray zone warfare strategy, in which its military and often civilian “research vessels” conduct aggressive and sometimes hostile maneuvers that are below the threshold of conventional warfare. The gray zone warfare tactic aims to psychologically and financially exhaust the adversary by forcing them to remain on constant alert for an attack.

Areas of interest

The report, completed in May this year, is based on Taiwanese surveillance and intelligence information on Chinese military operations in various strategic locations, including the Bohai Sea, the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea and the Western Pacific.

ReutersCiting Taiwan’s internal report, it pointed out that about 40 percent of Chinese ships’ voyages are concentrated in the South China Sea, 20 percent in the East China Sea near Japan and South Korea, and nearly 15 percent in the Taiwan Strait.

“This reveals the logic behind the allocation of their resources,” said a senior Taiwanese official briefed on the investigation. “They are spending enormous resources to gain control of the western First Island Chain.”

The First Island Chain is a collection of archipelagos that stretch in an arc roughly from Indonesia northeast to Japan and encompass the South China Sea and the East China Sea. They also include the disputed Kuril and Ryukyu Islands and the northern Philippines.

A big “gap” for Taiwan

The investigation was conducted to help Taiwanese decision-makers understand how China allocates its military resources across regions and to assess Taipei’s perception of a “gap” between Beijing’s intentions and capabilities, according to information shared by three officials briefed on the reports.

Experts noted that the report’s methodology, while workable, inevitably included some estimates and assumptions. However, they agreed that the data provided valuable insights into China’s military spending and strategic priorities in the region.

China’s $15.3 billion spending on these exercises is equivalent to about 85 percent of Taiwan’s defense budget for 2023. Reuters‘, as the calculations showed.

China is suspicious of “external forces”

Both Washington and Beijing have increased the frequency of their military exercises in Asia in recent years. However, China’s exercises are still considered smaller in scope and complexity than those of the United States and its allies.

The Chinese state-backed Global Times had previously reported that the stationing of Chinese carrier fleets in the Western Pacific was part of a broader strategy aimed not only at Taiwan but also at combating external forces.

“China’s carrier battle group is not only exposed to Taiwanese authorities but also to interference from external forces,” military expert Song Zhongping told the newspaper.

With contributions from Reuters