After China voiced its displeasure with Taiwan-related clauses in a recently adopted U.S. annual defence spending bill, the Chinese military launched a 24-hour show of force against the island, according to Taiwan’s defence ministry on Monday.
The Communist Party’s People’s Liberation Army has been sending planes or ships toward the island on a nearly daily basis as part of China’s increased military harassment of Taiwan, which it claims is its own territory.
According to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense, 47 of the Chinese aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median between 6 a.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday, an unofficial line that was formerly implicitly acknowledged by both sides.
China launched 18 J-16 fighter aeroplanes, 11 J-1 fighters, 6 Su-30 fighters, and drones in the direction of Taiwan.
Taiwan claimed that it kept an eye on Chinese movements using both its own military ships and land-based missile systems.
Shi Yi, the spokesman for the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command, said in a statement on Sunday night that “this is a firm response to the ongoing US-Taiwan escalation and provocation.” It declared that joint combat patrols and joint strike drills were being conducted by the PLA in the waters surrounding Taiwan.
Shi was alluding to the fact that China is described as a strategic challenge in the U.S. defence funding plan. The Act calls for expanded cooperation with India on cutting-edge defence technologies, readiness, and logistics, and also enables stronger security cooperation with Taiwan.
Large-scale military drills have frequently been utilised by China’s armed forces as a show of strength in retaliation to U.S. government support for Taiwan. In response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August, it carried out significant live-fire military drills. Beijing sees foreign delegations as a challenge to China’s claim of sovereignty and a de facto acceptance of the island’s independence.