The military detected a record 153 Chinese military aircraft around the nation, the Ministry of National Defense announced today, after China held a day of large-scale drills yesterday.
The aircraft were spotted in the 25-hour period until 6am today, the ministry said in a statement — the most for a single day.
Photo: EPA
Beijing deployed fighter jets, drones, warships and coast guard boats to encircle Taiwan yesterday, with Taiwan responding by dispatching "appropriate forces" and placing its outlying islands on heightened alert.
The ministry typically records the numbers of Chinese warplanes and warships operating around Taiwan in 24-hour periods from 6am to 6am the next day, but it moved the start of that period to 5am yesterday to match the start of the Joint Sword 2024-B drills that began at 5:02am.
Forty-seven Chinese fighter jets were detected near the median line of the Taiwan Strait from 5:02am to 8:57pm, 28 of which crossed the median line, the flight map released by the ministry showed.
Another 41 fighter jets entered the southwestern part of Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) between 6:43am and 6:14pm, and 42 fighter jets flew into the eastern part of the ADIZ from 5:16am to 5:31pm, the map showed.
Also, 23 fighter jets and choppers were detected to the north, south and southeast of Taiwan just outside the ADIZ between 5:02am and 6:34pm, the map showed.
None of the aircraft entered Taiwan's contiguous zone, which extends 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation's shores, the map showed.
Taiwan condemned China's actions as "irrational and provocative," and the US called them "unwarranted."
Japan said today it had expressed its "concerns" to China over the drills, and scrambled fighter jets near its southern island of Yonaguni, which lies near northeast Taiwan.
"The government is closely monitoring the related activities with great interest, and has conveyed Japan's concerns to the Chinese side," Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kazuhiko Aoki told reporters.
Yesterday was the fourth round of large-scale drills in just more than two years.
The ministry also recorded 14 Chinese navy ships in the latest 25-hour period, slightly fewer than the 17 announced yesterday afternoon.
The Pentagon yesterday strongly criticized the Chinese military drills around Taiwan, calling them destabilizing.
"This military pressure operation is irresponsible, disproportionate and destabilizing," Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder said in a statement.
China said the drills, dubbed Joint Sword 2024B, were held in areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan.
Beijing declared them over by about 6pm yesterday, about 13 hours after they started.
China said the exercises served as a "stern warning to the separatist acts of 'Taiwan Independence' forces."
Additional reporting by Reuters
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS