China ships, jets swarm off Taiwan

China's Shandong carrier strike group, along with other warships of the People's Liberation Army, earned condemnation from Taiwan for its naval exercises near the self-ruled island.

According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, more than 100 Chinese warplanes and nine navy ships were sighted in the Bashi Channel, which separates Taiwan and the Philippines.

Over the past decades, the People's Republic of China has maintained its stance that Taiwan is a renegade province that it intends to reunite with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Taiwan's defense ministry described the number of warplanes detected around the island as a "recent high."

"Between the morning of 17th to 18th September, the Ministry of National Defence detected a total of 103 Chinese aircraft which was a recent high and has posed severe challenges to the security across the Taiwan Strait and in the region," the agency said in a statement.

While Beijing refrained from issuing an official statement on the sorties, Taiwan called on China to stop its "destructive unilateral actions" in the area.

Beijing's "continued military harassment can easily lead to a sharp spike in tensions and worsen regional security," the ministry said.

About 40 of the Chinese fighter planes crossed the so-called median line of the Taiwan Strait that separates the island from China, and entered its southwest and southeast air defense identification zone, the statement said.

Taipei reported similar incidents last week following an increased number of incursions by Chinese warplanes and ships.

High alert

The uptick came as Beijing said its troops were on "high alert" after two ships belonging to the United States and Canada sailed through the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan's defense ministry said 68 Chinese aircraft and 10 naval vessels were detected around the island between Wednesday morning and Thursday morning.

Some of those planes and warships were heading to an unspecified area in the Western Pacific to "conduct joint sea and air training" with China's Shandong aircraft carrier, the ministry said.

The Shandong, one of two operational aircraft carriers in the Chinese fleet, was detected last week around 60 nautical miles (110 kilometers) southeast of Taiwan heading to the Western Pacific, Taipei authorities said.

Japan, too

Meanwhile, Japan's defense ministry said its navy had detected six ships — including frigates, destroyers, one fast combat support ship, and the Shandong — sailing through waters some 650 kilometers (400 miles) south of Miyakojima island, east of Taiwan.

It also confirmed that jets and helicopters had been detected taking off and landing on the Shandong.

China's increased military activities in the South China Sea were attributed to the multiple military drills being conducted by the United States with its allies in the Asia-Pacific.

Among them are the ongoing US-South Korea exercise in the Yellow Sea, a drill involving the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea in the East China Sea, and the 19-nation Super Garuda Shield exercise.

Counter to naval drills

Last month, Japan, Australia and the Philippines conducted a naval drill led by the US.

"Politically, China aims to counter the military containment by democratic allies led by the United States," Su Tzu-yun, an analyst at Taiwan's Institute for National Defence and Security Research, told AFP.

Taiwan had reported a large number of Chinese warplane flights around the island following last August's visit to Taipei by Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the US House of Representatives.

In April, Beijing conducted a three-day "Joint Sword" military exercise to simulate the encirclement of the island, after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen met with US house Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.

At the time, Taiwan detected 71 Chinese warplanes in a 24-hour period, matching the previous record daily high set in December 2022.

WITH AFP