Dozens of Chinese warplanes and 10 navy ships were detected around Taiwan, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, after warning that Beijing was conducting air and sea drills in the western Pacific.
Ten Chinese naval vessels and 68 aircraft were detected near the nation between 6am on Wednesday and 6am yesterday, the ministry said in a statement.
Forty of the aircraft had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the southwest or southeast air defense identification zone (ADIZ), it said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
This was followed by another 13 aircraft entering the southwest ADIZ yesterday, the ministry said in a separate statement.
Taipei had already said some of those planes and warships were heading to an unspecified area of the western Pacific to “conduct joint sea and air training” with China’s Shandong aircraft carrier.
The Shandong, one of two operational aircraft carriers in the Chinese fleet, was detected on Monday about 110km southeast of Taiwan heading into the Pacific, the ministry said.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense also said on Wednesday that its navy had detected six ships — including frigates, destroyers, one fast combat support ship and the Shandong — sailing in waters about 650km south of Miyakojima Island.
It also confirmed that jets and helicopters had been detected taking off and landing on the Shandong.
Taipei this week said that China was stepping up “gray zone” activities around Taiwan, accusing Beijing of seeking to raise regional tensions and pressure the territory while avoiding all-out conflict.
China’s military “has been tasked to develop capabilities to take over Taiwan,” one expert said.
“Those military exercises are aimed at developing and practicing those capabilities,” said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Washington-based German Marshall Fund. “We should expect its trend to continue, with growing pressure on Taiwan.”
China has not commented officially on any drills being conducted in the western Pacific, but the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command, which organizes drills around Taiwan, said on Wednesday that an “aviation unit” had carried out training “recently” in a range of “thousands of kilometers” without mentioning Taiwan.
In April, China conducted military exercises to simulate the encirclement of Taiwan after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) met US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.
At the time, Taiwan detected 71 Chinese warplanes in a 24-hour period, matching the record daily high set in December last year.
China last week said its troops were “on constant high alert,” after two ships belonging to the US and Canada sailed through the Taiwan Strait.
The US Navy said the transit demonstrated “the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Additional reporting by CNA
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against
Police officers yesterday morning apprehended the prime suspect of a triple homicide case, after raiding the suspect’s hideout in Taichung. They transported the suspect to New Taipei City for questioning and recorded his statement last night. The suspect, identified as a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), is believed to have used his hands to strangle his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), 29, along with his three-year-old son from a previous marriage and his wife’s mother, 69. The three dead bodies were wrapped in blankets when they were discovered inside their apartment in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) on Saturday. Chang was holding a
Hungarian Member of Parliament Tompos Marton said he considers Taiwan to be a better alternative to China as a strategic partner. Marton, who is the vice president of the opposition Momentum Party, made the remarks in an interview with the Central News Agency on Sunday. He draped a Republic of China flag across his shoulders to protest Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to the capital city, Budapest, on Thursday last week, and openly voiced support for Taiwan on social media. He said in the interview that he wanted to remind the world that there were alternatives to China, and that “Taiwan has
A female physician at New Taipei City’s Shuang Ho Hospital was bullied and made to work for 32 consecutive hours by a senior colleague while pregnant before later having a miscarriage, an internal investigation found, the hospital said on Monday. The perpetrator has been removed from his post, the hospital said. The attending physician in the hospital’s Medical Imaging Department, identified by the pseudonym Y, earlier on Monday told reporters that she had been bullied by a male senior colleague who arranged shifts in her department. In January, shortly after she became pregnant, Y asked the department director if she could avoid overnight