Forty-two Chinese fighter jets and eight ships were detected around Taiwan on Saturday, authorities said, as Beijing announced a three-day combat readiness exercise and patrols near the island after the Taiwanese president met with the speaker of the United States House in California.
Twenty-nine of the morning sorties involved Chinese air force J-10, J-11 and J-16 fighter jets crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the de facto border between Taiwan and mainland China, the Defense Ministry said. National of Taiwan. saying.
It marked the largest raid on Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) this year. An ADIZ is an area where foreign aircraft are tracked and identified before traveling further into a country’s airspace.
China carried out the exercises three days after Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy near Los Angeles, the first meeting of its kind on US soil, despite angry warnings from Beijing.
The ministry “condemned such irrational actions and will defend Taiwan’s security with strong combat readiness,” it said.
Also on Saturday morning, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command announced in a statement that the “United Sword” drills would take place from April 8 to 10 “as planned.”
Command spokesman Col. Shi Yi said the exercise will be held in the Taiwan Strait and in the sea and airspace north, east and south of Taiwan.
Last August, the Eastern Theater Command conducted a week-long military exercise around Taiwan just after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island.
China considers Taiwan a Chinese province and has repeatedly protested against support given to the island by “external forces”.
In addition, the Chinese military will conduct live-fire drills for five days in April in waters off Fuzhou, the capital of the southeastern Fujian province near Taiwan, according to the provincial coast guard, which has issued a navigation advisory for the area.
Another live-fire exercise will take place on April 10 on Pingtan Island in the Taiwan Strait.
from taiwan Ministry of Defence He said he was monitoring the situation and would respond accordingly “to defend our country.”
In recent years, China “continued to send planes and ships to harass the region,” the ministry said in a statement.
“He even used President Tsai’s visit to the United States as an excuse to hold military exercises, which has seriously damaged regional peace, stability and security.”
Taiwan’s military will respond calmly and rationally so as not to escalate tensions, he said.
On Thursday, following the Tsai-McCarthy meeting in California, Beijing vowed to take “strong and determined measures” as he condemned the US for “crossing the line and acting provocatively” against China.
“This (the meeting) is essentially the United States acting with Taiwan to collude with the political activities of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists in the United States,” said the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs he said in a statement. “It seriously infringes on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
President Tsai is now back in Taipei. upon arrival on Friday, he said his trip showed that “when faced with pressure and coercion, Taiwan will only become more unified.”
“We will never give in to attempts to stop us, or turn away from obstacles, or stop engaging with the world,” Tsai said during remarks at the Taoyuan International Airport.
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