Taiwanese authorities indicated this Friday, November 29, that they had detected 41 Chinese military planes and ships near the island, before a trip abroad by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, whose stops in the United States irritate Beijing.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry announced that it had detected 33 Chinese aircraft and eight warships in 24 hours in its airspace and waters.
It is the largest Chinese military deployment around Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of China, in more than three weeks. Taiwan also detected a balloon, the fourth since Sunday, about 172 kilometers west of the island.
Lai Ching-te travels this Saturday
In recent years, China has increased its military activity around the island to pressure Taipei to accept its sovereignty claims. It deploys fighter jets, drones and warships to Taiwan almost daily.
Lai Ching-te, who openly defends Taiwan’s sovereignty, leaves on Saturday to visit the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, the only Pacific nations among Taiwan’s 12 remaining allies.
During this tour, Lai Ching-te, in power since May, will spend two nights in Hawaii and one night in Guam, meeting with “old friends” and “members of think tanks,” a presidential source told AFP. He requested anonymity. .
“It is not ruled out that large-scale military exercises will be carried out”
Taiwanese officials have already stopped on US soil during trips to the Pacific or Latin America, drawing the ire of Chinese leaders.
Lai Ching-te’s predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, had already visited Hawaii and Guam during her first official visit to her Pacific allies in 2017.
“The Chinese (military) have the sacred mission of protecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity and will resolutely crush all secessionist attempts at Taiwan independence,” Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Defense, warned during a press conference on Thursday. . .
As of Thursday afternoon, the Taiwanese military had deployed aircraft, ships and coastal missile systems after detecting 19 Chinese aircraft near the island.
“It is not ruled out that large-scale military exercises will be held in response to Lai Ching-te’s visit to Hawaii,” said Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at Taiwan’s National Defense and Security Research Institute, interviewed by AFP.
Source: BFM TV
