2023-11-01 05:27:54
Taiwan counted 43 Chinese military planes around the island in the space of 24 hours, the defense ministry of this autonomous territory announced on Wednesday.
According to a ministry statement, 43 Chinese planes and seven ships were detected around the island in the previous 24 hours as of 6 a.m. Wednesday (10 p.m. GMT).
Of these, “37 aircraft crossed the median line – an unofficial demarcation between China and Taiwan that the former does not recognize – and entered the southwest Air Defense Identification Zone (Adiz) and southeast” of Taiwan, said the same source.
The Chinese government considers the autonomous island as part of its territory which it has vowed to one day reunify, by force if necessary.
Beijing has intensified its threats and political and economic pressure on Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016, from a party advocating a formal declaration of independence for the island.
In October, Taiwan’s defense minister claimed that this year China has stepped up its “military intimidation” by flying more warplanes around the island and accelerating the deployment of ballistic missiles. .
Taiwanese authorities report almost daily incursions by aircraft from the Chinese army, which last year carried out major military maneuvers around the island.
In September, it sent 103 planes around Taiwan in the space of 24 hours, which Taipei called a “record” in recent times.
The Taiwanese ministry warned against “this continued military harassment of Beijing” likely to “easily lead to a sharp escalation of tensions and threaten regional security”.
In April, Beijing conducted military exercises simulating an encirclement of the island, after a meeting between the Taiwanese president and the Speaker of the American House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy in California.
During these exercises, Beijing simulated targeted bombings against the autonomous island and an encirclement of Taiwan, whose authorities had detected 12 Chinese warships and 91 planes on the last day of operations.
Last week, China’s Defense Ministry accused Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of dragging the island into a “dangerous war situation”, after reports that Taipei was planning to buy thousands of military drones over the next four years.
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