China sends 43 military aircraft, 8 naval vessels towards Taiwan

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) said that 43 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels were detected around Taiwan between 6 am (local time) on Wednesday and 6 am (local time) on Friday, Taiwan News reported.

According to the MND, of the 43 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 34 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered the southwestern and eastern Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). These included fighter jets, drones, and helicopters.

“43 PLA aircraft and 8 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 34 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly,” Taiwan MND said on X.

Taiwan sent combat patrol aircraft and naval vessels and deployed land-based air defense missile systems to monitor the PLA activity.

This latest Chinese military activity adds to a series of similar provocations by Beijing in recent months. China has increased its military activities near Taiwan, including regular air and naval incursions into Taiwan’s ADIZ and military exercises near the island.

So far this month, the MND has tracked 366 Chinese military aircraft and 200 ships. Since September 2020, Beijing has increased its use of “gray zone tactics” by operating military aircraft and naval ships around Taiwan.

According to CSIS, gray zone tactics are “an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resorting to direct and sizable use of force.”

Taiwan has been governed independently since 1949. However, China considers Taiwan part of its territory and insists on eventual reunification, by force if necessary.

Earlier in July, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te accused the Chinese government of misinterpreting a United Nations resolution to justify its military activities against Taiwan and drawing an inappropriate linkage to its “One China” principle, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

Beijing claims that the UN resolution confirmed its one-China principle, which implies that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China.