TAIPEI (AFP) — Taiwan’s defense ministry said Thursday that 29 more Chinese fighter jets and drones were detected around the democratic island, following a 24-hour period that saw a surge in military movement by Beijing’s forces.
China, which claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory, sends warplanes, drones and naval vessels around the island nearly every day.
The latest ramp-up in military movement came after Japanese media reported that a Japanese warship sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait for the first time to assert its freedom of navigation.
On Thursday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said 43 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels were detected in a 24-hour period ending at 6:00 a.m. It also released an illustration that showed the aircraft surrounding the island except for the northeastern coast.
By afternoon, the ministry reported an additional 29 aircraft — including fighter jets and drones — had been detected since 8 a.m.
“Out of those, 21 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered our northern, central and southwestern ADIZ in conducting ‘joint combat readiness patrol’ along with other PLAN vessels,” it said.
“The military has monitored the situation and responded accordingly.”
Naval ships pass
Meanwhile, a Japanese warship cruised through the Taiwan Strait for the first time to assert its freedom of navigation, local media said Thursday, a week after a Chinese aircraft carrier sailed between two Japanese islands near Taiwan.
Japan’s top government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi declined to comment on the reports at a regular briefing because they concern military operations.
The United States and its allies are increasingly crossing the 180-kilometer Taiwan Strait to reinforce its status as an international waterway, angering China.
Several Japanese media outlets said the Sazanami destroyer made the unprecedented passage on Wednesday at the same time as military vessels from Australia and New Zealand.
The three nations planned to conduct military drills in the contested South China Sea, the reports said.