Taiwan activates defences in response to China incursions
CTV
Taiwan scrambled fighter jets, put its navy on alert and activated missile systems in response to nearby operations of 34 Chinese military aircraft and nine warships that are part Beijing's strategy to unsettle and intimidate the self-governing island democracy.
Taiwan scrambled fighter jets, put its navy on alert and activated missile systems in response to nearby operations of 34 Chinese military aircraft and nine warships that are part Beijing's strategy to unsettle and intimidate the self-governing island democracy.
The large-scale Chinese deployment comes as Beijing increases preparations for a potential blockade or outright attack on Taiwan that has stirred major concerns among military leaders in the U.S., Taiwan's key ally.
In a memo last month, U.S. Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan instructed officers to be prepared for a U.S. -China conflict over Taiwan in 2025. As head of Air Mobility Command, Minihan has a keen understanding of the Chinese military and his personal remarks echo calls in the U.S. for heightened preparations.
Taiwan's Defence Ministry said 20 Chinese aircraft on Tuesday crossed the central line in the Taiwan Strait that has long been an unofficial buffer zone between the sides, which divided amid civil war in 1949.
China claims the self-governing island republic as its own territory to be taken by force, while the vast majority of Taiwanese are opposed to coming under the control of China's authoritarian Communist Party.
Taiwan's armed forces "monitored the situation ... to respond to these activities," the Defence Ministry said Wednesday.
China has sent warships, bombers, fighter jets and support aircraft into airspace near Taiwan on a near daily basis, hoping to wear down the island's limited defence resources and undercut support for pro-independence President Tsai Ing-wen.
