The Ministry of National Defense today said it detected 41 Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) military aircraft and ships around the nation ahead of a Hawaii stopover by President William Lai (賴清德).
In the 24 hours to 6am, the ministry said it had detected 33 Chinese aircraft and eight navy vessels in Taiwan's airspace and waters.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
That included 19 aircraft that took part in China's "joint combat readiness patrol" yesterday evening and was the highest number in more than three weeks, according to an AFP tally of figures released daily by the ministry.
Taiwan also spotted a balloon — the fourth since Sunday — about 172km west of the main island.
"It cannot be ruled out that there will be a relatively large-scale military exercise in response to Lai's visit," said Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a military expert at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
Lai departs tomorrow on his first overseas trip since taking office in May.
He is to stop briefly in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam to meet "old friends," as he visits Taiwan's three allies in the Pacific.
Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑), a military expert at Tamkang University, said that China's response would be determined by Lai's remarks during the trip.
"China may carry out military exercises, but they may not be large ones. It will depend on what President Lai says," Lin said, adding the current weather was "not very good" for drills.
In the past five years, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Nauru have all been persuaded to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
The Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau are now the only Pacific island nations among Taiwan's 12 remaining diplomatic allies.
Switching recognition to China "opened the door to much deeper engagement between Beijing and those countries," said Mark Harrison, a senior lecturer in Chinese studies at the University of Tasmania.
Lai's trip was a rare opportunity for the president to represent Taiwan abroad and bolster its claim to statehood.
"Even though they kind of look theatrical and performative, [these trips] actually give Taiwan a genuine voice in the international system," Harrision said. "They confer legitimacy, they confer the appearance of sovereignty and, with the international system as it is, the appearance of sovereignty is also sovereignty."
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