Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) tracked 11 Chinese warplanes and eight naval vessels around the island nation in the past 24 hours, Taiwanese media reported.
According to the MND, of the 11 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, seven crossed the midline of the Taiwan Strait in the northern and southwestern sectors of the country’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ), while one PLA helicopter was tracked in the southeastern ADIZ.
In response, Taiwan dispatched navy aircraft and ships, and deployed shore-based missile systems to monitor PLA activity.
This month, Taiwan has detected Chinese warplanes 209 times and navy and coast guard ships 163 times.
Conflicts between Taiwan and China have long been military. They exchange mutual threats almost daily, building up military capabilities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
The alternative to the military scenario is still the resumption of dialogue between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Taiwanese administration.
However, China severed relations with the island’s ruling government back in 2016. The reason was the refusal of the island’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president-elect Tsai Ing-wen to reaffirm the course of peaceful integration with the PRC and to recognise the 1992 consensus that the two sides affirm the existence of only one China.
