Taipei detected the presence of 42 Chinese military aircraft near the island this Saturday, hours after China announced the start of maritime and air military exercises around Taiwan.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said the aircraft detected included J-10 and J-11 fighters, with 26 of the 42 aircraft crossing the centerline separating the island from mainland China.
In a statement posted on social network X (formerly Twitter), the ministry added that eight Chinese military ships were also detected in the raids, which began around 9 a.m. (2 a.m. in Lisbon).
Taiwanese authorities responded by deploying aircraft and ships and activating land-based missile systems, the statement said.
Hours earlier, the Chinese military had announced the start of military naval and air exercises around Taiwan, as a “dire warning” to the island’s “separatist groups” and the “external forces” that support them.
In response, Taipei’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement that it “strongly condemns this irrational and provocative behavior and will deploy appropriate forces to defend Taiwan’s freedom, democracy and sovereignty.”
China’s foreign ministry had promised “tough measures” against Taiwan’s Vice President William Lai Ching-te’s visit to the United States on Sunday, something it viewed as an attack on his sovereignty claims over Taiwan.
William Lai returned to Taipei on Friday after traveling to Paraguay, where he took part in the inauguration of Santiago Peña as that country’s new president, one of the few to officially recognize Taiwan.
The vice president made two stops in New York and San Francisco after being met by representatives of the American Institute of Taiwan, which serves as the de facto US embassy on the island, in the absence of diplomatic relations between Washington and Taipei.
China considers Taiwan one of its provinces and does not refrain from the possible use of military force to bring about reunification.
China’s military had already begun three-day maneuvers around Taiwan in April following a meeting in the United States between US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
William Tai was chosen by the Democratic Progressive Party, currently in power in Taiwan, as a candidate to succeed Tsai Ing-wen in the elections scheduled for 2024.
Source: DN
