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Taiwan has tracked 21 Chinese warplanes and five military ships surrounding the country with eight jets that crossed the Taiwan Strait median line.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense claimed it has tracked 17 Chinese military planes and five ships surrounding the country by 5 p.m. Friday, according to Taiwan News.
According to the military, eight PLAAF warplanes crossed the Taiwan Strait median line. The planes were four Xi’an JH-7 fighter-bombers, two Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, and two Shenyang J-11 aeroplanes.
The JH-7 and Su-30 jets crossed the median line at its northern end, while the two J-11 fighters did likewise at its southern end.
According to Taiwan News, the ministry has entrusted Combat Air Patrols (CAP), Navy ships, and air defence missile systems with monitoring and responding to Chinese activity.
Following the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-governed island, China has intensified its shenanigans in the Taiwan Strait.
The military had spotted 51 Chinese jets over the Taiwan Strait as well as a Chinese guided-missile destroyer near a zone where Taiwan was testing missiles the day before.
Tensions rose further on Sunday when another US congressional delegation visited Taiwan, and a social media post by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) showed footage of the Penghu islands, implying that its planes were on Taiwan’s doorstep.
Tung Pei-lun, the Taiwanese Air Force’s vice chief of staff for operations, denied that recent Chinese drills in the Taiwan Strait got close to Penghu, claiming that Beijing employs “cognitive warfare.”
Following Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei earlier this month, the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command (ETC), which is in charge of the region that encompasses the Taiwan Strait, has held naval and air force manoeuvres surrounding Taiwan as a show of force.
With tensions in the Taiwan Strait at an all-time high, the US intends to take steps in the next weeks and months to offset China’s military and economic activity in the region.
Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan earlier this month exacerbated regional tensions. Since the US delegation’s arrival, Beijing has conducted large-scale military exercises near the island, including live-fire drills and military aircraft overflights within Taiwan’s airspace.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said at a press conference on Wednesday that the US will continue to take firm but measured steps to maintain peace and stability in the face of Beijing’s continuous efforts to disrupt the status quo.
“These initiatives across a range of areas will develop over the next weeks and months because we know that this challenge is long-term,” Price said during a press conference.
