Taipei: Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) has reported a major spike in Chinese military activity, tracking 58 aircraft, 9 naval vessels, and one official ship from China near the island between Wednesday and Thursday morning.
According to the MND, 45 of the aircraft breached the Taiwan Strait median line, entering air defense zones in the north, center, southwest, and east. Taiwan responded swiftly, scrambling jets, deploying naval ships, and activating coastal missile systems to counter the incursion.
So far this month, Taiwan has recorded 341 Chinese aircraft and 134 naval ship movements around its territory, highlighting Beijing’s escalating pressure tactics.
The Chinese Communist Party considers Taiwan a breakaway province, citing the post-WWII handover of the island from Japan and the 1949 civil war, after which Chiang Kai-shek’s defeated Kuomintang forces fled to Taiwan. Taipei, however, argues that its democratic government and independent administration refute Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
Meanwhile, tensions extended to the South China Sea. Taiwan’s Coast Guard said it expelled two Chinese coast guard vessels intruding near Dongsha Island early Wednesday. The Chinese ships — vessels 3105 and 3103 — were detected 25 and 22 nautical miles from Dongsha, respectively.
Taiwan’s Hsun Hu No. 8 patrol vessel monitored and warned them off. Notably, the Chinese ships had disabled their automatic identification systems, attempting to obscure their movement.
The Coast Guard suspects the incursion could be a strategic test of Taiwan’s maritime defenses amid its ongoing Han Kuang military drills, designed to simulate a full-scale Chinese invasion.
