Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence spotted a big spike in Chinese military moves on Saturday, with 27 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft flying around the island starting from 8 AM local time. This surge highlights the ongoing tensions in the Taiwan Strait, where China keeps testing boundaries.
Out of those 27 flights, 26 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the central, southwestern, and eastern areas. From there, they headed into the Western Pacific. The aircraft included J-16 fighter jets, H-6 bombers, and KJ-500 airborne early warning planes, as the ministry shared in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
These weren’t solo flights— they were part of a massive air-sea joint training exercise involving several ships from the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Taiwan’s armed forces kept a close watch and responded as needed, the ministry said.
This comes hot on the heels of another alert earlier that day. Up until 6 AM (UTC+8), the ministry detected 31 PLA aircraft, 13 PLAN vessels, and three official Chinese ships operating near Taiwan. Of those planes, 25 crossed the median line into the northern, central, and southwestern ADIZ. “We have monitored the situation and responded,” the ministry posted on X.
Such frequent incursions by Chinese PLA aircraft and PLAN ships point to the growing China-Taiwan tensions. Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), runs its own government, economy, and military independently. But China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province and pushes the “One China” policy, claiming Beijing as the only legitimate capital.
The roots of this dispute go back to 1949, after the Chinese Civil War. When Mao Zedong’s Communist Party won control of mainland China, the ROC government retreated to Taiwan. Since then, Beijing has used military drills, diplomatic isolation, and economic pressure to push for reunification. Taiwan, though, stands firm on its de facto independence, with strong backing from its people and allies.
The ministry regularly shares these updates on social media to keep everyone informed and boost national security awareness amid these Taiwan Strait military activities.
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