China’s Navy Surrounds Taiwan & Iran Nuclear Inspections

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**Mike Baker** (0:42)
It's Thursday, the 25th of June. We are making our way through this month. Welcome to The Presidents Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, while the world has been preoccupied with Iran, China has maintained its focus on a key objective. China is quietly surrounding Taiwan. New reporting reveals Beijing now maintains a near constant naval presence around the island, turning what were once military drills into the new normal and raising fresh questions about China's long-term strategy. Later in the show, the UN's nuclear agency says it expects inspectors to visit Iran's enrichment facilities as part of the next phase of negotiations.
But the Iranian regime says, not so fast, bub. Actually, I don't know if there's a word in Farsi for bub, but you hopefully get my point. Plus, Russia is accusing the Trump administration of drifting away from peace negotiations and closer to Ukraine. Well, that must be disappointing for Putin. He's always been about peace. And in today's Back of the Brief, Iran's banking system is grappling with the aftermath of a cyber attack that disrupted services at three of Iran's largest financial institutions. But first, today's PDB spotlight.
Late last month, Chinese warships were positioned north, south, east and west of Taiwan. Guided missile destroyers and other naval vessels formed a loose ring around the island, creating the appearance of a military encirclement or blockade. Now, ten years ago, this kind of deployment would have triggered alarm bells across the region and dominated international headlines. Today, meh, it's just become another day in the Taiwan Strait. According to new reporting from the Wall Street Journal, China has quietly transformed what were once occasional demonstrations of military power into something far more significant, a near constant naval presence around Taiwan. And while Beijing's warships haven't fired a shot, defense officials and military analysts say they are steadily changing the strategic reality around the island. For years, China's naval presence near Taiwan was relatively limited. A single Chinese warship routinely sailed through the Taiwan Strait, serving as a reminder of Beijing's territorial claims and military ambitions. That changed in 2020 According to regional security officials cited by the Wall Street Journal, China added two more warships that year, positioning one off Taiwan's northern coast and another off its southern coast. Two years later, a fourth ship took up station off Taiwan's eastern shoreline. By 2024, a fifth vessel joined the rotation, and today, Chinese naval forces typically maintain five or six warships around Taiwan at nearly all times. Now, the buildup unfolded gradually, with each increase following political developments that Beijing viewed as provocative. Taiwan's 2020 presidential election, which returned then-President Tsai Ing-wen to office, prompted one escalation. Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei in 2022 prompted another. Taiwan's 2024 election and other political disputes added further momentum. And the result is a military presence that has become so routine that many observers barely notice it anymore. But military analysts say, well, that's a mistake. China's naval patrols are not just political theater. They're also providing the PLA's Navy with valuable experience. The warships surrounding Taiwan today are not the same ships every week. Instead, Beijing rotates different vessels and crews through the patrols, allowing a growing number of sailors to operate in the waters around Taiwan. The ships remain on station for roughly two weeks before being replaced, creating a continuous cycle of training, observation and intelligence collection. Every patrol teaches Chinese commanders more about the environment in which they may one day be ordered to fight. They learn how Taiwan responds to incursions. They observe how Taiwanese ships maneuver, communicate and deploy. They gather information on response times, patrol patterns and military procedures. Over time, that data creates an increasingly detailed picture of Taiwan's defenses. One retired US. Navy intelligence officer described the process as a quote, tightening of the noose.
Taiwan's military faces a different reality. Each time Chinese vessels move closer to the island or participate in what Beijing calls Joint Combat Readiness Patrols, Taiwan's forces must respond. Warships are dispatched, crews are activated, resources are consumed. According to Taiwan's officials, some of these confrontations now last up to 48 hours as Taiwanese ships shadow their Chinese counterparts near the island's claimed maritime boundary. That constant operational tempo creates a burden that falls disproportionately on Taiwan. China possesses the world's largest Navy by number of ships and can rotate fresh crews and vessels into the area. Taiwan's Navy is significantly smaller and already struggles with manpower shortages. Every response mission means additional fuel costs, maintenance requirements and time away from training of repairs. In other words, Beijing doesn't need to engage Taiwan militarily to create pressure. Simply maintaining the presence can force Taipei to expend resources day after day.