Taiwan detected a record number of 153 Chinese aircraft in one day near the island, following Chinese military maneuvers to surround the autonomously managed territory that ended on Monday.
These movements occurred during a period of twenty-five hours that ended at 6 a.m. local Tuesday morning (midnight in Paris), according to data published on Tuesday by the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense, which stated that 14 Chinese ships had also been detected. during the same period.
Of these 153 planes, 111 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which divides this 180-kilometer-wide strait between the island and mainland China.
Beijing carried out military maneuvers on Monday to surround Taiwan with planes and warships. This took place just days after a speech by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Thursday to mark the island’s National Day.
Mr. Lai was committed to “resist annexation” Chinese from the island or “to the invasion of [sa] sovereignty ».
China considers Taiwan one of its provinces, which it has not yet managed to reunify with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.
Tokyo expresses its “concerns”
On Tuesday, Tokyo said it had expressed its “concerns” to Beijing about the vast Chinese military maneuvers that took place the previous day and sent fighter jets near the southern Japanese island of Yonaguni.
“The government is closely monitoring relevant activities with utmost care and has conveyed Japan’s concerns to the Chinese side.”the Deputy Secretary General of the Government, Kazuhiko Aoki, declared to the press.
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Aoki also noted that two Chinese navy ships, including the aircraft carrier Liaoning, sailed in waters near Yonaguni Island on Sunday. Chinese military planes then took off from Liaoning and landed there during military maneuvers on Monday, he added.
” Warning “
These exercises were presented by the Chinese army as a ” warning “ to “separatists” of Taiwan, and Beijing periodically accuses Taiwanese authorities of campaigning for the island territory’s independence. Called Joint Sword-2024B (“United Sharp Swords-2024B”), Monday’s exercises took place in areas north, south and east of Taiwan, according to the Chinese military.
The United States denounced operations “unjustified”. Since 1979, Washington has recognized Beijing, to the detriment of Taipei, as the only legitimate Chinese power, but it remains Taiwan’s most powerful ally and its main weapons supplier. The European Union, for its part, called on all parties on Monday to “show moderation”.
Relations between Beijing and Taipei have been terrible since 2016 and the arrival to the Taiwanese presidency of Tsai Ing-wen, and then of her successor Lai Ching-te in 2024.
China has periodically accused them of wanting to deepen the cultural separation between the island and the mainland. In response, Beijing significantly reinforced its military activity throughout the territory.
Disputes between Beijing and Taipei date back to the long civil war that pitted communist fighters led by Mao Tse-tung against the nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-shek. Defeated by the communists, who founded the People’s Republic of China on 1Ahem In October 1949, the Nationalists took refuge with many civilians in Taiwan.
