A fleet of more than 30 aircraft from the Chinese regime flew over the surroundings of Taiwan during the last 24 hours, a few days after the US Government approved the sale of a drones and missiles marauders to the island, according to official sources reported this Friday.
In his last daily report, the Ministry of National Defense (MDN) of Taiwan reported the presence of 36 Chinese war aircraft in the vicinity of its territory, the highest number so far this month, among which were fighter jets, unmanned vehicles and helicopters.
A total of eighteen of these aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Straitan unofficial border that had been respected by Taipei and Beijing for decades, and approached just 74 kilometers from the northern city of Keelungwhere a military base is located, and another 107 kilometers from the western town of taichung.
According to the official report, these incursions took place between 06:40 and 18:08 on Thursday (22:40 GMT on Wednesday and 10:08 GMT on Thursday).
Another fleet of fifteen Chinese planes and drones entered the southwestern region of the Air Defense Identification Zone Taiwanese (ADIZ) and passed just 68 kilometers from Cape Eluanbiin the southern tip of Taiwan, between 08:07 and 21:14 hours (00:07 and 13:14 GMT).
The MDN also detected a helicopter in the southeast of the ADIZ, specifically 176 kilometers from Cape Eluanbi.
“The Taiwanese Armed Forces monitored the situation and deployed fighter jets, Navy ships and coastal missile systems in response to the detected activities.“said the military portfolio in a statement.
These movements happen after the US Department of State approve the sale of a combat drone and loitering missile system to Taiwan for a value of $360.2 millionin what marked the fifteenth sale of weapons to the island by the Administration of the American president, Joe Biden.
In a press conference, the spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Lin Jianassured this Wednesday that the US decision constitutes a “serious violation of China’s sovereignty and security interests”, “seriously harms relations” between Beijing and Washington and “threatens peace and stability” in the Taiwan Strait.
Lin stated that this sale sends “a wrong signal” to the “separatist forces” on the island.
“The actions of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taiwan are destined to fail and will have detrimental consequences”added the spokesperson, while reiterating that the Taiwan issue is “the most important red line in relations between China and the US.”
Taiwan – where the Chinese nationalist army withdrew after defeat at the hands of communist troops in the civil war (1927-1949) – has been governed autonomously since the end of the war, although China claims sovereignty over the island. which he considers a rebellious province for whose “reunification” he has not ruled out the use of force.
The Taiwan Air Force carried out this Thursday a set of maneuvers throughout the island, in which different types of combat aircraft participated, “to verify the defense capacity of important objectives” in the face of a “communist attack“, according to the official news agency CNA.
The exercise, called ‘Comprehensive Air Defense Operations Plan‘, took place between 05:00 and 07:00 in the morning (21:00 and 23:00 GMT on Wednesday) and consisted of the simulation of enemy attacks against “important positions” in Taiwan.
During the maneuvers, the Taiwanese Air Force mobilized several combat aircraft, including fighters F-CK-1 Ching-kuo, Mirage 2000-5 and F-16Vas well as transport aircraft Hercules C-130H and combat helicopters Apache AH-64which coordinated with other air defense units on the ground.
According to CNAthe exercise focused on the “integration of military and civil air defense systems” and in the operation of the “joint command mechanism” of the Armed Forces, and was intended to evaluate the “ability to protect important targets” and “improve the efficiency of joint air defense operations.”
(With information from EFE and AFP)
