Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it detected 26 aircraft and nine Chinese warships around the island on Tuesday, a day after Beijing announced the end of its major military maneuvers.
China mobilized “military aircraft this morning and crossed the median line from North, Center and South”, the Ministry of Defense informed, the same day as a week-long visit by Canadian MPs to the territory begins. .
China considers Taiwan part of its territory, where nationalists fled after losing the Chinese Civil War to the Communists in 1949. One of Beijing’s priorities is to secure reunification, by force if necessary.
The show of force comes after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen met on Wednesday (5) in California with the leader of the United States House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, a move Beijing has promised to respond.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it detected 12 warships and 91 aircraft on the last day of the military drills, which started on Saturday (8).
The Taiwanese president yesterday condemned the military exercises, saying China is using the relationship between Taipei and Washington as an excuse, creating instability in Taiwan and the region.
“Although China’s military exercise is over, our military and national security team will continue to stand by and defend the country,” Tsai Ing-wen said in a Facebook post.
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