Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday that it had detected 53 Chinese aircraft and 19 ships near Taiwan within 24 hours.
The recent movements of Chinese aircraft and ships around the island come as Beijing conducts its largest military exercises in years.
Chinese aircraft and ships ‘operate around Taiwan’
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said in a post on social media platform A ship has been detected.”
“Twenty-three aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern, southwest and eastern ADIZs,” the ministry said, referring to the Air Defense Identification Zone.
Taiwan’s military said it was monitoring the situation and responding.
Military officials announced that 100 Chinese personnel were confirmed near the island in the past two days.
Taiwan condemns training
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the Chinese government of being a “troublemaker” in conducting the drills.
The ministry said Taipei “solemnly requests the Chinese authorities to immediately stop military threats and all irrational activities that endanger regional peace and stability.”
Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Ministry accused Taipei of stirring up instability in the Taiwan Strait.
“The damage to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is the work of Taiwanese separatist forces supported by external actors,” said Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the US was monitoring the situation. He said the United States would “assist Taiwan in acquiring the means to defend itself” and ensure that “no one does anything to change the status quo (in the Taiwan Strait).”
Taiwan reports China’s largest military exercise in decades
Taiwan said on Tuesday that China had deployed about 90 ships along the so-called First Island Chain connecting Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines, deploying its largest naval fleet in its nearby waters in nearly 30 years.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has not yet commented on the increased military activity in the region, and the latest escalation in tensions comes after Taiwanese President Lai Ching-de’s visit to the United States last week.
Reuters reported that on Wednesday, in response to questions about China’s military activities around Taiwan, the China Taiwan Affairs Office said the government would never let Taiwan’s “separatist” forces, which are colluding with outside forces to seek independence, go unchecked. He reportedly said that he would not do so.
France’s AFP news agency quotes a Taiwanese security official as saying that Beijing aims to “draw a red line” on Taiwan ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. did.
A security official said, “The real purpose appears to be to assert control within the first island chain and establish a strategic deterrent in advance of the transition of power to the U.S. president.”
Taiwan considers itself a sovereign state, but China claims it is part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to control the island.
kb/rmt (AFP, Reuters)
