Taiwan’s defense ministry reported on Wednesday ( Jul. 10 ) that 37 Chinese aircraft were discovered close to the self-ruled island as they departed from exercises with an aircraft carrier in the western Pacific.
Taiwan, which is 180 kilometers from the southeastern Chinese coast, is occupied by China, which maintains a near-daily appearance of fighter jets, robots, and vessels around the area.
It is also a significant piece of a chain of islands that, according to defense analysts, connect the Pacific Ocean to the South China Sea, which China claims almost entirely.
At about 9.30am on Wednesday, Taipei said that” since 5.20am now, the Ministry of National Defence detected a full of 37 Chinese airplane” around Taiwan, including fighter jets, aircraft and drones.
The Taiwan Strait, which divides the area from China, is a delicate middle range that trens 36 aircraft.
The defense ministry stated in a statement that the aircraft was heading to the Western Pacific via our southeastern and southern aircraft to work with the aircraft ship the Shandong to conduct” joined sea and air education.”
Defence Minister Wellington Koo stated to reporters that the Shandong “did never move through the Bashi Channel,” a region off Taiwan’s southwestern tip where Chinese ships usually pass through en route to the Pacific Ocean.
Instead, he claimed, “it continued further west through the Balingtang Channel towards the Western Pacific,” referring to a lake north of Babuyan Island in the Philippines, which is located about 250 kilometers west of Bashi.
The Chinese airlines come a time after Japan’s Joint Staff Office reported that four PLA military vessels, including the Shandong, were sailing south of Miyako Island.
” On the same day, the Taiwanese military’s Kuznetsov-class aircraft ship’ Shandong’ was observed getting and departing fighter aircraft and helicopters on committee”, it said in a statement.
In recent years, China has increased military and political pressure on Taiwan and not renounced using force to impose itself.
In May, time after Chinese President Lai Ching-te took office, China launched war activities around the area as “punishment” for an opening statement that Beijing called a” revelation of Taiwan freedom”.
On Wednesday, Lai met with Raymond Greene, new director of the American Institute in Taiwan- the de-facto US embassy, emphasising their” solid partnership… in the midst of China’s repeated provocation and attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait”.
Although the United States, like many other nations, does not officially recognize Taiwan as a partner and major supplier of weapons, which is a source of consternation for Beijing, which has repeatedly demanded that Washington stop arming the island.
On Wednesday, Greene stated that Washington would continue to” strongly support Taiwan’s ability to defend itself.”
We have a shared and long-term interest in preserving the stability and peace in the Taiwan Strait. This is vital to the prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region, as well as to global security”, he said during his meeting with Lai.