Taiwan urges China to stop ‘destructive’ military activities. After reporting a significant uptick in Chinese military exercises near the island, Taiwan’s defense ministry warned Monday that such behavior may lead to a significant escalation in tensions.
China conducts regular military maneuvers surrounding Taiwan to establish its sovereignty claims and pressure the democratically elected government in Taipei.
The ministry reported a “recent high” of 103 Chinese military aircraft sightings since Sunday.
Its map of Chinese activity over the previous 24 hours revealed that Chinese fighter jets had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which had acted as an unofficial boundary between the two sides until China began routinely crossing it a year ago.
The Bashi Channel, which separates Taiwan and the Philippines, was used by other aircraft to fly south of Taiwan.
The ministry added that China’s actions over the last day had posed “serious challenges” to security in the strait and the area.
It also noted that all regional actors had a stake in maintaining calm in the Taiwan Strait.
“The continuous military harassment by the Communist military can easily lead to a sharp increase in tensions and worsen regional security,” the ministry said. We demand that the authorities in Beijing stop these harmful unilateral steps immediately.
Requests for feedback from the Chinese Ministry of Defense were not met with an instant response.
More than 100 Chinese naval ships were sent for maneuvers in the region last week, including in the South China Sea and off Taiwan’s northeastern coast, a regional security official told Reuters, in addition to the air force incursion near Taiwan over the weekend.
The official, who requested anonymity due to the nature of his work, claimed that the naval exercises were the “largest in years” in magnitude and that they were putting pressure on everyone in the region.
The Chinese military is notoriously active near the coast from July to September, as was pointed out by Taiwan’s defense ministry just last week.
According to a study released by Taiwan’s defense ministry this month, China has increased the number of its air bases and is permanently stationing new aircraft and drones there to increase their air strength in the face of Taiwan.
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