More than 50 aircraft and warships of the Chinese regime passed through the surroundings of Taiwan In the last 24 hours, some movements that occurred after the establishment, by Beijing, of seven reserved air zones for the possible realization of military maneuvers, official sources reported this Tuesday.
In a statement, the Ministry of National Defense (MDN) of Taiwan indicated that, between 06:00 a.m. on Monday (22:00 GMT on Sunday) and 06:00 a.m. on Tuesday (22:00 GMT on Monday), it had detected 47 Chinese aircraft and 12 warships in the vicinity of its territory, in addition to 9 other Chinese “official ships.”
Of the total number of aircraft, 16 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Straitan unofficial border that has been increasingly violated by the Xi Jinping regime in recent years, and entered the southwestern region of the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) Taiwanese, although without penetrating Taipei airspace.
Las Taiwan Armed Forces This Monday they raised their alert level regarding the eventual launch of a new wave of military exercises by China, which would be the third this year, although Beijing, for the moment, has not officially confirmed the carrying out of any military operation.
On Sunday, Chinese authorities established seven reserved air zones in the provinces of Zhejiang (east) and Fujian (southeast)located off the coast of Taiwan, a measure that will last until 8:00 p.m. (12:00 GMT) this Wednesday.
In response, the MDN indicated that it had instructed “all units to maintain strict control of enemy activities and a high level of alert” and that had also started “combat preparation exercises” in view of the possible maneuvers of the Chinese Army in these areas.
Taiwan denounced this Tuesday that the ship deployment by China in waters near the island has surpassed in magnitude the military exercises carried out in 2022, which were the largest chinese war games dwarves.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, Sun Li-fangnoted that the number of Chinese warships, coast guards and other vessels along the so-called first island chain, which connects Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippineshas surpassed Beijing’s maritime response to the visit of the then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to Taipei in 2022.
These possible military exercises occur a few days after the Taiwanese president, William Laiwill conclude a tour of the South Pacific with stops in its three allied countries in the area –Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau– and stops in the US territories of Hawaii and Guam, which angered China.
During the last week, the Chinese regime repeatedly expressed its “firm rejection” of Lai’s transit through the United States, insisting that it would “unwaveringly” defend its “sovereignty and territorial integrity” in the face of attempts to “interference of external forces” in Beijing’s “internal affairs.”
China considers the president of Taiwan an “independence supporter” and a “troublemaker,” a territory governed autonomously since 1949 and whose sovereignty Beijing claims.
Since Lai took office on May 20, the MDN has detected more than 3,300 Chinese Army aircraft near the island, of which 2,343 crossed the dividing line of the Strait or violated the self-proclaimed Taiwanese ADIZ, 37% more than in all of 2023.
(With information from AFP)
