China’s military has sent 71 planes and seven ships toward Taiwan in a 24-hour show of force targeting the island, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said on Monday, after China expressed anger over Taiwan-related provisions in a America’s annual defense spending bill passed Saturday.
China’s military harassment of self-ruled Taiwan, which it claims is its own territory, has intensified in recent years, with the Communist Party’s People’s Liberation Army sending planes or ships to the island almost daily.
Between 6 a.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday, 47 of the Chinese planes crossed the median of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial boundary once tacitly accepted by both sides, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense.
Among the planes China sent to Taiwan were 18 J-16 fighter jets, 11 J-1 fighters, 6 Su-30 fighters and drones.
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Taiwan said it was monitoring Chinese movements through its ground-based missile systems, as well as on its own warships.
“This is a strong response to the ongoing escalation and provocation between the US and Taiwan,” Shi Yi, a spokesman for the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command, said in a statement late Sunday. He announced that the PLA was conducting joint combat patrols and joint attack drills in the waters around Taiwan.
Shi was referring to the US defense spending bill, which calls China a strategic challenge. With respect to the Indo-Pacific region, the legislation authorizes further security cooperation with Taiwan and requires further cooperation with India on emerging defense technologies, readiness and logistics.
China’s military has often used large military exercises as a show of force in response to US government actions in support of Taiwan. It conducted major live-fire military exercises in August in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Beijing views foreign government visits to the island as de facto recognition of the island as independent and a challenge to China’s claim to sovereignty.
