TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s defence ministry said on Thursday it had detected an increase in the number of Chinese warplanes flying over its east, west and south coasts in what a security source described as Chinese simulations of attacks to prevent foreign forces from providing assistance during the conflict.
Democratically ruled Taiwan, which Beijing considers a province, has complained of increased Chinese military activity over the past five years. Taiwan’s government rejects China’s claims of sovereignty.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said in its daily report on Chinese military movements over the past 24 hours that it had detected 43 Chinese military aircraft operating around the island, at least 11 of which crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which had previously served as an unofficial barrier.
Of the 43 aircraft, 23 flew south of Taiwan through the Bashi Channel that separates Taiwan from the Philippines and then along Taiwan’s east coast, according to a map provided by the ministry, though they did not enter territorial airspace.
The ministry said on Wednesday that Chinese aircraft had been involved in long-range missions around Taiwan.
A security source familiar with the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the flights were part of annual Chinese exercises.
The source said the PLA was carrying out simulated attacks in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, with the aim of practicing assessing the denial of “foreign aid” in the event of a conflict in the region.
The source added that the Chinese air force also conducted air control drills in the waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and practiced aerial refueling in the waters around the Bashi Channel.
The Chinese Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China’s last full-scale war games around Taiwan were in late May, shortly after Tsai Ing-wen took office as Taiwan’s new president, whom Beijing detests as a “separatist.”
Lai says only the people of Taiwan can decide their future and has repeatedly offered to hold talks with Beijing but has been rebuffed.
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