China-Taiwan, on the verge of war: “Incursion of nine military planes”

Tensions rose again in the Taiwan Strait, with nine Chinese military aircraft crossing the midline of the Taiwan Strait on the north, center and south sides in five patrol groups. This was denounced by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense, stressing that the island’s Armed Forces have “monitored and responded to the situation with our means without aggravating” the situation. Instead, China has declared that it does not recognize the midline Taiwan Strait, deeming the island part of a “one China” and destined for “reunification” with the People’s Republic of China.

For the Ministry of Defense of Taipei, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, reads a note, “has endangered regional stability, caused tension, brought a negative impact on security and economic development with this deliberate action. We therefore condemn this irrational act.”

Already in the last few hours, Beijing had warned the president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, that “no force can prevent China from reuniting” the island with the People’s Republic of China. The warning comes from the Itamaraty spokesperson, Mao Ning, in view of the latest statements by Tsai, who is in New York, on a stopover during the trip that will take her to Guatemala and Belize, two of Taipei’s diplomatic allies in Central America. Yesterday, Tsai received an award from the Hudson Institute conservative think-tank, the «Global Leadership Award», for her efforts in promoting relations with the United States: the Taiwanese president underlined how the relationship between the island and world democracies has grown in recent years , and said Taipei will continue to work with Washington to “demonstrate Taiwan’s determination to protect our way of life”. From Beijing, the spokeswoman reiterated China’s “firm opposition” to any form of official contact between the US and Taiwan. The tension is always greater.