At least eight Chinese military aircraft and three naval ships were detected near Taiwan on Tuesday, the fourth such incident in the past week amid heightened tensions in the region.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense tweeted on Tuesday that eight planes and three warships of the People’s Liberation Army were detected around 6 a.m.
A member of the People’s Liberation Army looks through binoculars during military exercises as Taiwan’s Lan Yang frigate is seen in the rear, Friday, Aug. 5, 2022.
(Lin Jian/Xinhua via AP)
The Defense Ministry said its Armed Forces have monitored the situation and assigned CAP aircraft, Navy vessels and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities.
The Ministry of National Defense said two of the detected aircraft, an SU-30 and a Y8-EW, crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the unofficial buffer zone separating Taiwan from mainland China, and entered the Southwest Taiwan Air Defense Identification Zone.
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Tuesday marked the third day in a row, and the fourth in the past week, that the Chinese military crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
Early Monday morning, nearly a dozen Chinese military aircraft and three naval ships were detected near the island nation.
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.
(Ministry of National Defense, ROC Twitter)
Following another incident the day before, the PLA said it had been conducting combat exercises focused on ground attacks, sea assaults and other issues.
These exercises, the PLA said, were meant to “test the joint combat capability of the troops and resolutely counter acts of collusion and provocation by external forces and ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.”
China did not make any similar statement after its actions on Tuesday.
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China has increased its pressure on Taiwan’s military in recent years by sending fighter jets or navy ships almost daily to the autonomous island, which China claims as its own territory. Taiwan broke away from the mainland in 1949 after a civil war.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the actions in recent days “have seriously disturbed the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and surrounding waters.”
In late December, China sent a record 71 aircraft and 7 ships to Taiwan, the largest-scale exercise of its kind in 2022.
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Taiwan will hold its annual two-day military exercises starting on Wednesday. The exercise before the Lunar New Year holiday is aimed at showing off their defense capabilities.
Fox News’ Greg Wehner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
