Department of Defense
After the Chinese military maneuvers: warships and planes continue to fly off Taiwan’s coast
STORY: According to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, China’s three-day military maneuvers around Taiwan have led to instability in the region. She shared on Facebook Monday that this was not a responsible course of action for a key country in the region. China began extensive military maneuvers on Saturday, a day after Tsai returned to Taipei from a meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles. The government in Beijing regards the democratically governed Taiwan as a breakaway province and sees meetings between Taiwanese top politicians and Western politicians as a departure from the one-China principle. Taiwan sees itself as an independent Republic of China and has been self-governing since 1949.
China has declared its three-day military maneuvers off Taiwan over. But Chinese ships and planes continue to make their rounds, according to the Taiwanese Defense Ministry.
A day after the end of the Chinese military maneuvers off Taiwan, according to information from Taipei, Chinese warships and aircraft were still active in the region. Beijing “organized military aircraft this morning and crossed the median line from the north, center and south,” the Taiwan Defense Ministry said, citing the unofficial border dividing the strait between Taiwan and mainland China.
According to the information, the ministry identified nine warships and 26 aircraft around the island around 11:00 a.m. (5:00 a.m. CEST).
Beijing declared its three-day maneuvers off Taiwan over on Monday. According to Chinese information, the military exercises included the sealing off of the island and attacks on “key targets” located there. According to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, several dozen military aircraft were in action off Taiwan.
12 warships and 91 military aircraft off Taiwan
The Defense Ministry in Taipei said it sighted 12 Chinese warships and 91 military aircraft off the island on Monday. According to Taipei, the aircraft included fighter jets and bombers.
The Chinese maneuver follows a meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week. After the meeting near Los Angeles, Beijing announced “decisive and energetic measures”.
Since the split between China and Taiwan in 1949, Beijing has viewed the island as a breakaway territory that it wants to reunite with the mainland – if necessary using military force.