This was probably an article written on the basis of a press release by the US forces, which probably accompanies all major exercises. Undoubtedly, it's a 'pub

This was probably an article written on the basis of a press release by the US forces, which probably accompanies all major exercises. Undoubtedly, it's a 'public signal' (one of many) by US forces to the world. So the trick here is to 'read the tea leaves' and see if there is any hint of change of policy or anything special, or just a re-affirmation of things we already knew. They mentioned the 'concern of nuclear weapons' and 'China's ambitions towards Taiwan'. Those statements are basically meant for everyone, esp. Russia and China, and the public at large: the US military is officially concerned about those things. It's not like anyone didn't know before, but this makes it more consistent and official. Which is altogether different than the armchair discussions by a lot of observers and analysts.