Nearly a dozen Chinese military aircraft and three naval ships were detected near Taiwan on Monday amid rising tensions, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense.
In a tweet on Monday, Taiwanese officials said 11 planes from the People’s Liberation Army, or PLA, and three vessels from the People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, were detected at 6 a.m.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, an air force pilot from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command watches as they conduct joint combat training exercises around the island of Taiwan on Sunday. August 7, 2022.
(Wang Xinchao/Xinhua via AP)
He added that seven of the detected aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which is an unofficial buffer zone separating Taiwan from China.
TAIWAN’S DEFENSE MINISTRY SAYS DOZENS OF CHINESE MILITARY AIRCRAFT ENTERED THE AIRSPACE NEAR THE ISLAND
This is the second day in a row, and the third in a week, that China has crossed the midline of the Taiwan Strait.
On January 8, dozens of Chinese aircraft and four ships were detected near Taiwan, with at least 28 aircraft crossing the median line.
Following Sunday’s incident, the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said in a statement that they conducted “joint combat readiness patrols and actual combat drills” to “resolutely counter the provocative actions of external forces and separatist forces of Taiwan independence”.
Regarding the incident on Monday, no statement has been made from China.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense tweeted that 11 Chinese aircraft and three warships were detected in the Taiwan Strait, with seven aircraft crossing an unofficial buffer zone between the two countries.
(Taiwan Ministry of National Defense Twitter)
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said its military is monitoring the situation and instructed aircraft, navy ships and ground-based missile systems to respond to the activities.STATE DEPARTMENT CALLS ON CHINA TO BE MORE TRANSPARENT ABOUT THE CURRENT RISE OF COVID-19, THE ORIGINS OF THE VIRUS
In August, tensions rose after then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. In recent months, China has increased the number of combat drills around the island in recent months.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Biden at the November G20 summit in Bali that the Taiwan issue was “the very core of China’s core interests” and the “first red line” in bilateral relations.
President Biden said after that meeting that he “does not believe there is any imminent attempt by China to invade Taiwan.”
