Taiwan’s military said that the Chinese planes and ships operating in the Taiwan Strait are believed to be simulating an attack on its main island, reported AFP.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement that the forces “detected multiple batches of Communist planes and ships conducting activities around the Taiwan Strait, some of which crossed the median line. They were judged to be conducting a simulation of an attack on Taiwan’s main island.”
“Possible simulated attack against HVA. #ROCArmedForces have utilized alert broadcast, aircraft in CAP, patrolling naval vessels, and land-based missile systems in response to this situation,” the ministry tweeted.
China’s aggressive posturing against the neighbouring island comes in the wake of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent Taiwan trip which left Beijing fuming. It retaliated by imposing trade ban on Taiwan for certain items and announced sanctions against Pelosi and her immediate family. It also cancelled talks with Washington on defence, climate change and a range of other issues.
As a part of its most provocative military drills in decades, China reportedly flew seven drones over restricted waters surrounding Taiwan’s outer islands and fired missiles over the island of 23 million people. Taiwan’s defence ministry said that 49 PLA aircraft, including J-10, J-11, J-16, and SU-30 flew on the east part of the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Friday.
The ministry stated the drills aimed at changing the status quo of Taiwan Strait violated the island’s sovereignty and caused tension in the Indo-Pacific region. He asserted that the Taiwanese forces don’t seek escalation but won’t succumb to challenges and “respond with reason.”