The Associated Press has reported that China sent its fighter aircraft and naval ships toward Taiwan on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Quoting Taiwan’s defense ministry, AP says the People’s Liberation Army sent 38 warplanes and 9 warships around Taiwan between the early hours of Tuesday and Wednesday.
Biggest incursion in three months
From Wednesday morning until noon time, China sent another 30 fighter aircraft, which included the J-series warplanes.
China doesn’t consider Taiwan an independent country and has always expressed displeasure at political events on the island.
Thirty-two aircraft crossed the midline- an imaginary line between Taiwan and China- in an apparent bid to scare the island nation. On Wednesday, another 23 planes crossed the midline which demarcates the buffer zone between the two countries.
A buffer zone is a no-go area for militaries from both sides.
Taiwan is planning a series of military exercises in late July to test its troops’ combat readiness in the event of Chinese aggression.
Later this year, Taiwan will conduct the annual Wan’an exercises aimed at preparing its civilian population against air raids.
Taiwan says China flew H-6 bombers near the island nation’s waters.
What provoked China?
TIME says these sorties were in response to visits of American lawmakers to Taiwan.
Last year, Beijing conducted large military drills near Taipei in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island. China fired several missiles in the Taiwan Strait and forced civilian aircraft to reroute their flight paths.
In April this year, the PLA once again conducted large-scale military exercises to show its anger at President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with Kevin McCarthy, current Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The United States has vowed to defend Taiwan against any Chinese invasion. Washington and Taipei hold regular military drills near the Taiwan Strait.
Military and diplomatic experts don’t think China will invade Taiwan shortly. China is Taiwan’s biggest trading partner. According to CNBC, Taiwan exported $188 billion of goods to China in 2021.
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