Taipei, Dec 17, (dpa/GNA) – Taiwan has recorded a new high in the number of Chinese military aircraft, flying around the democratic East Asian island nation.
Up to and including December 15, 3,570 aircraft of various types have entered the area around Taiwan this year, compared with 3,070 for the whole of 2024, the National Security Bureau (NSB) in the Taiwanese parliament in Taipei reported on Wednesday.
Not included in the data so far were nine aircraft of the People’s Liberation Army, that operated around Taiwan in the 24 hours up to 6 am on Wednesday (2200 GMT on Tuesday).
According to the Ministry of Defence, five of these entered the so-called air defence identification zone, which is not to be confused with airspace.
Taiwan’s military also observed the first passage of Beijing’s new aircraft carrier Fujian through the Taiwan Strait that separates the island from Mainland China since its commissioning.
The report highlighted the increased tension in the Taiwan Strait as well as east and south of the self-governing island republic, which Beijing claims for itself and wants to bring under the umbrella of the People’s Republic of China.
NSB Director Tsai Ming-yen also pointed out in parliament that there had been 39 “joint combat patrols” by Chinese naval ships. These were intended to test the alert and response patterns in the Taiwan Strait.
The Ministry of Defence noted that Beijing has never renounced the use of military force to annex Taiwan, and continues to conduct military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea and the Western Pacific to test the defence capabilities of Japanese and Taiwanese forces.
GNA