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
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