Taiwanese Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jets prepare to take off at an Air Force base in Hsinchu on December 10, 2024. Agence France-Presse
THE DAILY INQUIRER | Published December 10, 2024
HSINCHU, Taiwan — Taiwan said Tuesday it detected 47 Chinese military aircraft near the island in the past 24 hours, the highest number since Beijing launched large-scale war games two months ago.
There has been intense speculation about the possibility of China launching military exercises in response to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s visits to the United States last week.
A senior Taiwanese security official told AFP on Tuesday that “nearly 90” Chinese naval and coast guard vessels had been detected in waters along the so-called first island chain, which links Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines.
That was the highest number of aircraft detected in a single day since a record 153 reported on October 15, after China staged large-scale military drills in response to Lai’s speech days earlier.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said Monday its forces were on high alert after Chinese warships and coast guard vessels were spotted near the island and Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reserved airspace off China’s east coast.
There has been no public announcement by the PLA or Chinese state media about increased military activity in the East China Sea, Taiwan Strait or South China Sea.
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SOURCE: www.globalnation.inquirer.com
RELATED: Taiwan says China deploying largest naval fleet in decades
DW | Published December 10, 2024
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday said that China had deployed its largest navy fleet in regional waters in nearly three decades.
The deployment is bigger than the military drills of 2022, when former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island.
The Defense Ministry said that 47 aircraft and 12 warships had been detected in the previous 24 hours. It added that this was the largest number of aircraft spotted near the island in a single day in the last two months, which saw an escalation in Chinese war games along the island.
The deployment marks an escalation in the tensions between China and Taiwan.
What did Taiwan say about the Chinese deployment?
Taiwanese Defense Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang said the Chinese naval deployment close to the so-called first island chain which links Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines, was the largest since China held war games ahead of the 1996 Taiwanese presidential elections.
“The current scale is the largest compared to the previous four. Regardless of whether they have announced drills, they are posing great threats to us,” Sun said.
The ministry said China’s navy is building two “walls” in the Pacific.
“They are sending a very simple message with these two walls: trying to make the Taiwan Strait an internal sea” of China, senior ministry intelligence officer Hsieh Jih-sheng told reporters.
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SOURCE: www.dw.com
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