Taiwan detects 32 Chinese aircraft, 8 naval vessels, 2 balloons near its shores

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence on Tuesday detected 32 aircraft from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), eight vessels from the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and one official ship operating nearby it shores as of 6 am (UTC+8).

The MND noted that 22 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern and southwestern Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). It also detected two balloons from China.

Sharing a post on X, MND wrote, “32 PLA aircraft, 8 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today.”

It added, “22 out of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern and southwestern ADIZ. 2 PRC balloons were detected during this timeframe.”

On Monday, MND detected five aircraft and six PLAN vessels were detected around the island. The ministry also confirmed that three of the five aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the island nation’s southwestern ADIZ.

Earlier on Sunday, MND reported that 14 Chinese aircraft and six PLAN vessels were detected around Taiwan. Nine of these aircraft had crossed the median line and entered the island nation’s northern and southwestern ADIZ.

In recent weeks, China had visibly increased its capacity to conduct amphibious assaults on Taiwan’s beaches with new naval equipment. This included the formal launch of an advanced landing helicopter assault (LHA) vessel, unique in the world, and the mass production of floating bridge docks to aid ship unloading during beach landings.

The Taiwan-China conflict remained a longstanding geopolitical issue centred on Taiwan’s sovereignty. While Taiwan functioned as a de facto independent state with its own government, military, and economy, Beijing considered it a breakaway province under the “One China” policy.

Since the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949), when the Republic of China government retreated to Taiwan, China had used diplomatic, economic, and military measures to pressure Taiwan, which continued to assert its independence with strong domestic support.