Taipei announced this Sunday that it had detected 45 aircraft and nine Chinese military ships near the island in the past 24 hours after China announced it would begin military exercises around Taiwan.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said the aircraft detected included Su-30, J-10 and J-11 fighters, with 27 of the 45 aircraft crossing over, southwest of Taiwan, the center line separating the island from mainland China .
In a statement posted on the social network X (formerly Twitter), the ministry added that eight Chinese military vessels were also detected as of 6 a.m. Sunday (Saturday 11 p.m. in Lisbon).
Taiwanese authorities responded by deploying aircraft and ships and activating land-based missile systems, the statement said.
On Saturday, China’s military announced the start of maritime and air exercises around Taiwan as a “dire warning” to the island’s “separatist groups” and the “external forces” that support them.
The Chinese Army’s Eastern Theater Command, whose area of operations faces Taiwan, has released online footage of the exercises, showing soldiers running as well as military boats and planes.
China’s state television CCTV said boats equipped with missiles and fighter jets were involved in the operation and the units worked together to simulate a siege of Taiwan.
Taipei’s defense ministry said in a statement that it “strongly condemns this irrational and provocative behavior and will deploy adequate forces to defend Taiwan’s freedom, democracy and sovereignty.”
On Saturday, the ministry had detected the presence of 42 aircraft and eight Chinese military ships near the island, 26 of which crossed the centerline that separates Taiwan from mainland China.
Taiwan’s foreign minister accused China of “wanting to influence Taiwan’s upcoming national elections”. “It is for our citizens to decide, not for our tyrannical neighbor,” said Joseph Wu Jaushieh on the social network X.
China’s foreign ministry had promised “tough measures” on Sunday against the passage of Taiwan’s Vice President William Lai Ching-te through the United States, which it viewed as an attack on his sovereignty claims over Taiwan.
William Lai, a proponent of Taiwan independence, was chosen by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party as a candidate to succeed President Tsai Ing-wen in elections scheduled for 2024.
Lai made two stops in the US on a trip to Paraguay – one of the few countries that officially recognizes Taiwan – where he took part in the inauguration of the new president, Santiago Peña, on Tuesday.
Source: DN
