China conducts dangerous military exercises near Taiwan
After the Black Sea and the Middle East, this time war bells are ringing in South Asia. Taiwan announced that 43 military aircraft and 7 warships belonging to China were detected around the island.
From yesterday evening until this morning, 43 Chinese military aircraft and 7 warships were detected around Taiwan Island, Taiwan's Defense Ministry announced in their statement.
In a statement made on the Ministry's account on the social networking site X, it was stated that 37 of the 43 aircraft crossed the air and sea line, which is assumed to limit the spheres of influence of the parties in the Taiwan Strait, and flew in the area declared by Taiwan as the "Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ)".
In the statement, it was noted that 4 "J-10" type fighter jets crossed the nominal "middle line" in the Taiwan Strait, 6 "SU-30", 16 "J-16" type fighter jets, 4 "H-6K" type strategic bombers, 2 "KJ-500" type early warning, 2 "Y-20" type refueling, "Y-8" type maritime patrol and "Y-9" type military transport aircraft and "WZ-7" type armed drone flew southwest of ADIZ.
With this, it was stated that 7 warships belonging to China were also seen around the island, and it was stated that the aircraft and ships were "followed by fighter jets, patrol ships, and missile systems".
Following US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August 2022, the Chinese military had regularised military patrols around the island and flights crossing the "middle line" with the ADIZ.
The last time a large number of military vehicles were seen in action was on October 27, when 35 aircraft and 15 ships were spotted around the island.
China regards Taiwan Island as part of its territory and the Taiwan Strait as its territorial waters and emphasizes that it will not exclude the use of force if necessary to reunify the island with the mainland.
Taiwan has enjoyed de facto independence since 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded. The separation between mainland China and Taiwan, which emerged after the civil war, is still ongoing.
Source: Anadolu Agency
