China’s People’s Liberation Army sent 13 aircraft and six vessels into airspace and waters around Taiwan over the past 24 hours as of early Saturday, overlapping with United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s visit to Beijing, aimed at mending strained relations.
Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said it was monitoring the situation from the air and sea, and land-based missile systems were prepared to respond. It said four Chinese aircraft - two SU-30 fighters, one BZK-005 reconnaissance plane and one Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane - crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait that serves as a de facto border between the sides, and had entered Taiwan’s southwestern air defence identification zone.
China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary and sends air and naval missions on virtually a daily basis in an attempt to wear down the island’s defence capabilities and intimidate its 23 million people, who thus far seem largely unfazed by such moves.
US support for the self-governing island republic that split from mainland China amid civil war in 1949 remains a major irritant in relations with Beijing.
