Taiwan, tension around the island: China deploys 42 aircraft and 8 warships

Tensions are rising in Taiwan, especially after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command launched new joint air and sea patrols and navy and air force military exercises around the island. The military maneuver immediately aroused the ire of Taipei, which vehemently condemned Beijing’s action, deeming it “irrational”. The exercise, as previously predicted by experts, coincided with Taiwanese Vice President William Lai’s stopover in the United States.

“Incursion by 42 planes and 8 warships”: this is how the Taiwanese government claimed to have revealed incursions by Chinese war vehicles into its defense zone. Among these raids, 26 warplanes crossed the midline of the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said, adding: “The national army is monitoring and using reconnaissance methods to strictly control the situation, sending planes and ships.”

In an official statement, the Taipei Ministry of Defense “strongly condemned this irrational and provocative behavior”. He then warned that he would send adequate forces to respond to this provocation “to defend Taiwan’s freedom, democracy and sovereignty”. China, for its part, explained that these exercises aim to train the coordination of military ships and aircraft and their ability to take control of air and maritime spaces. The drills serve as a “stern warning of Taiwanese independence separatists’ collusion with foreign elements and their provocations,” said command spokesman Shi Yi.