China has deployed two large destroyers to the Taiwan Strait while strongly criticizing Taiwan and Japan for their close ties.
CCTV's flagship news program "Xinwen Lianbo" aired footage on the evening of March 8 showing large destroyers with bow numbers "109" and "110" conducting joint exercises with other vessels. The broadcast accompanied coverage of President Xi Jinping's meeting with People's Liberation Army and Armed Police delegates at the National People's Congress.
Chinese state media reported the destroyers, named Dongguan and Anqing, were shown publicly for the first time. Both vessels appear to have already entered active service.
The Type 055 destroyers are considered the most capable in China's naval fleet. Developed as core assets for carrier strike groups, they are equipped with anti-air, anti-ship, and land-attack missiles, as well as anti-submarine torpedoes. The two newly revealed destroyers have been assigned to the Eastern Theater Command Navy, which oversees the Taiwan Strait and East China Sea.
The deployment brings China's Type 055 fleet to 10 vessels, up from eight. China commissioned its first 10,000-ton Type 055 destroyer, the Nanchang, in January 2020, followed by the Lhasa, Dalian, Wuxi, and Yan'an.
On the same day, China sharply criticized both Taiwan and Japan over Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai's visit to Japan. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular briefing on March 9: "Such disgraceful actions and tactics are enough to invite people's contempt."
Referring to Premier Cho as "this person," Guo added: "He harbored sinister intentions and secretly went to Japan to stir up provocative incidents promoting Taiwan independence."
"China maintains high vigilance over this and firmly opposes Japan's attempts to exploit so-called 'gray zones' on the Taiwan issue for breakthroughs," Guo said. "If Japan continues to condone such provocations and acts recklessly, it will certainly pay the price."
China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has strongly opposed official exchanges between Taiwan and other countries. Beijing has reportedly lodged a protest with the Japanese government.
China's reaction followed Premier Cho's March 7 visit to Japan to attend a 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool C game between Taiwan and the Czech Republic at Tokyo Dome. A sitting Taiwan premier's visit to Japan is considered unprecedented given the severed diplomatic ties between the two.
