In a concerning development, Taiwan has revealed that China flew 68 warplanes and deployed 10 navy vessels near the island within a span of just one day. This comes as Beijing continues to exert military and political pressure on Taiwan, considering it as its own territory.
In an official statement, Taiwan’s defense ministry said that it detected “68 PLA aircraft and 10 PLAN vessels around Taiwan” from Wednesday to Thursday morning. Notably, 35 warplanes were already spotted around the island on Wednesday morning alone.
According to Taiwan’s defense ministry, some of the warplanes and warships were heading towards the Western Pacific to conduct joint sea and air training with China’s Shandong aircraft carrier. The Shandong is one of two operational aircraft carriers in the Chinese fleet.
The defense ministry further shared that it detected the Shandong carrier approximately 60 nautical miles southeast of Taiwan’s southernmost point, heading towards the Western Pacific. China’s third and largest carrier, the Fujian, was launched last year, but its entry into service has not been confirmed yet.
China has not officially commented on these drills in the Western Pacific. However, the country’s Eastern Theatre Command, responsible for organizing drills around Taiwan, mentioned that an aviation unit recently conducted training covering a range of thousands of kilometers, without specifically mentioning Taiwan.
Last week, China announced that its troops were on “constant high alert” after two US and Canadian ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait. The US Navy confirmed that the ships were the USS Ralph Johnson and HMCS Ottawa, emphasizing the commitment of the United States and its allies to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
In April, China conducted military exercises simulating the encirclement of Taiwan after President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.