Taiwan: As China conducts massive maneuvers, identifies 17 navy vessels and 77 Chinese aircraft near its area
Taiwan: In the midst of continuing military exercises by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said on Wednesday that it has discovered 77 Chinese military aircraft and 17 navy vessels operating near the island as of 6 am local time.
The MND said in a post on X that 35 out of the 77 aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, and southwestern Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ) after crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line.Up to 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today, 77 PLA planes, 17 PLAN ships, and 8 government ships were seen moving near Taiwan. Thirty-five of the 77 sorties penetrated Taiwan’s northern, central, and southwestern ADIZ after crossing the median line. The ministry said, “We have kept an eye on the issue and taken appropriate action.
The most recent action follows military exercises that the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command characterized as an all-dimensional force projection in seas east of Taiwan.
The PLA’s activities endanger regional stability, Taiwan’s Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo said on Tuesday. Koo said that the exercises also pose a danger to civilian aviation and marine travel, according to Taiwan’s MND.Wellington Koo, the Minister of National Defense, said today that the PLA’s aggressive acts endanger civilian commerce and regional stability. The ROC Armed Forces will react calmly and protect our country’s democracy and security in accordance with the President’s directives,” the MND said in a different tweet.
According to Taiwan’s defense ministry, the PLA Eastern Theatre Command is deploying its Army, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force units to conduct joint military exercises in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, southwest, southeast, and east of Taiwan as part of the ongoing drills, codenamed “Justice Mission 2025.”
The MND reported a greater level of activity on Tuesday, identifying eight government ships, 14 PLAN boats, and 130 PLA aircraft operating in the Taiwan area till six in the morning.