From 6am yesterday until 6am today, 14 Chinese warships, eight government vessels and 130 military aircraft, including unmanned aerial vehicles, were detected around Taiwan, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said.
The ministry said China's People’s Liberation Army (PLA) sent 130 warplanes and drones during the 24-hour period to "harass" Taiwan, with 90 of them crossing the Taiwan Strait's median line and flying into Taiwanese airspace.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
The total reported today does not surpass the all-time record of 153 Chinese military aircraft detected around Taiwan in a 24-hour period on Oct. 14 last year, during the Joint Sword 2024-B drills.
Meanwhile, at 3:30pm yesterday, an air balloon flying at an altitude of 29,000 feet (8,839 meters) was spotted 59 nautical miles northwest of Keelung and subsequently disappeared at 4:10pm, the ministry said.
China’s "Justice Mission 2025" military exercises began yesterday and are to continue through today, with live-fire exercises running from 8am until 6pm in the sea and airspace of five locations surrounding Taiwan, the PLA Eastern Theatre Command said.
The MND has activated an emergency response center and initiated readiness drills.
The Taiwanese military is using mission-specific aircraft, naval vessels and coastal missile systems to closely monitor the situation and respond to the exercises, the MND said.
Taiwan's Air Force Air Defense and Missile Command today sent the Haifeng Brigade, currently stationed in Hualien, to Taitung to strengthen coastal defense capabilities.
In addition, Taiwan's army conducted combat readiness and reconnaissance patrol exercises today to protect key targets in outlying Penghu County.
These actions aimed to strengthen battlefield operations and demonstrate the "powerful mobility" and combat capabilities of Taiwan's armed forces, the army said.
In addition, Taiwanese F-16 fighter jets were spotted taking off and landing at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung over the past two days, but the ministry said those flights were regular exercises.
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