Officials in Taiwan say 17 Chinese military aircraft along with three ships entered an area near the island on Friday morning local time amid rising tensions.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said the planes and ships were detected around 6 a.m., adding that officials have been monitoring the situation.
“17 PLA aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected as of 6 am (UTC+8) today. The ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and assigned CAP aircraft, Navy vessels and security systems. ground-based missiles to respond to these activities. tweet statuses.
Taiwanese government officials believe that China is trying to create a pretext to carry out an attack on the island.
TAIWANESE OFFICIALS SAY 39 CHINESE MILITARY AIRCRAFT, 3 VESSELS, ENTERED AREA NEAR ISLAND
FILE – In this undated file photo released by Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, a Chinese PLA J-16 fighter jet flies at an undisclosed location.
(Taiwan Ministry of Defense via AP)
Since Monday, more than 40 Chinese military aircraft have been detected entering an area near Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu previously told The Guardian that China “is getting more serious than ever.”
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TOPSHOT – Chinese military helicopters fly over Pingtan Island, one of mainland China’s closest points to Taiwan, in Fujian province on August 4, 2022.
(HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images)
“And we’re pretty sure the Chinese may want to use another pretext to practice their future attacks on Taiwan. So this is a military threat against Taiwan,” Wu told The Guardian.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
