Taiwan has heightened its surveillance of Chinese military movements after detecting the largest number of Chinese warplanes near the island in a single 24-hour period this year. The uptick in military activity coincides with ongoing drills conducted by Beijing, which align with the NATO summit in Washington, DC.
According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence, as of Thursday morning, 66 aircraft from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and seven vessels from the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) were observed operating in the vicinity of Taiwan. Of these, 56 aircraft crossed the sensitive median line that divides the Taiwan Strait, a narrow waterway separating the island from mainland China.
The ministry also released images of a Chinese J-16 fighter and a nuclear-capable H-6 bomber, stating these were recent sightings indicative of ongoing military activities in the region.
Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang emphasized Taiwan’s vigilance, stating, “The military has a detailed grasp of the activities in the seas and waters around the Taiwan Strait, including of the Chinese communists’ aircraft and ships.”
In a separate development, Taiwan reported that China’s Shandong aircraft carrier had passed near the Philippines en route to military exercises in the Pacific. The Philippines military acknowledged reports of a China-Russia exercise in the Philippine Sea, though they did not specifically mention the Shandong.
Tensions between Beijing and Taipei have escalated in recent years, with China increasing military pressure on Taiwan amid the island’s push to strengthen its identity and international relations under the Democratic Progressive Party government.
Beijing views Taiwan as a renegade province and has denounced Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te as a “dangerous separatist,” asserting that Taiwan should be reunited with the mainland, even by force if necessary.
Meanwhile, NATO leaders at their summit accused China of facilitating Russia’s actions in Ukraine and identified China as a systemic challenge to European security. In response, a spokesperson for China’s mission to the European Union criticized NATO for exaggerating the “so-called China threat” and denounced the summit declaration as filled with falsehoods and defamation.
