China dispatched 28 warplanes in the vicinity of Taiwan on Sunday, with a majority crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line on undefined “long-range” tasks, as per Taipei officials.
The Taiwanese defense ministry indicated that 20 of these planes ventured across the median line, intruding into Taiwan’s southeast and southwest air defense zones.
The ministry stated that China was undertaking “long-range exercises and training,” and Taiwan was actively observing the situation with its
patrol ships and aircraft.
Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory, to be reclaimed potentially by force. As diplomatic relations between the two sides decline, China has intensified its military and political pressure on Taiwan.
Recently, after Beijing expressed its military’s “high alert” status in response to the transit of U.S. and Canadian vessels through the Taiwan Strait, Taipei observed a surge in Chinese military presence.
Over a 24-hour period last week, 68 Chinese planes and 10 naval ships were identified around Taiwan.
Some of these military assets were en route to an undisclosed Western Pacific location to carry out combined sea and air drills with China’s Shandong aircraft carrier, Taiwan’s defense ministry disclosed.
On Monday, the Shandong, one of China’s two active carriers, was spotted 60 nautical miles southeast of Taiwan, heading towards the Western Pacific.
While Beijing hasn’t formally acknowledged any exercises in the Western Pacific, it previously staged military drills in April to emulate an island encirclement, following a meeting between Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.
