Taiwan denounces China’s largest incursion into its air defense zone

Seventy-one aircraft of the Chinese air forceincluding fighters and drones, entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone in the past 24 hours, the island’s government said Monday, the largest incursion recorded to date.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported that 43 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial buffer zone between the two sides located within the defense zone, as Beijing continues its military activities near the claimed island. for china.

The White House stated that USA He is concerned about China’s military activity near Taiwan, calling it “provocative” and “destabilizing”, adding that it risks miscalculation and undermines regional stability.

Taiwan’s official Central News Agency said it was the biggest Chinese air force raid to date, though there was no alarm on the island, which has seen a steady increase in Chinese pressure in recent years. .

china, what claims Taiwan as its own territorysaid it carried out “drill attacks” in the sea and airspace around Taiwan on Sunday, in response to what it called a provocation by the island and the United States.

Taiwan, which strongly rejects Chinese claims to sovereignty, said the drills show that Beijing is destroying regional peace and trying to intimidate the Taiwanese people.

A senior Taiwanese official familiar with security planning in the region told Reuters that Taiwan believes China staged the military “provocation” to express anger over a new US defense authorization law that increases military aid to Taiwan.

The source, who declined to be named as the information had not been made public, said that during the drills, the Chinese air force dispatched warplanes from various parts of the country to carry out simulated attacks on Taiwanese and US warships.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The office of the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, reported the call for a high level meeting on national security on Tuesday morning to discuss strengthening the island’s civil defense system, followed by a press conference on the new civil defense measures.