According to data provided by Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, China is currently conducting one of the largest incursions it has carried out in the waters and skies surrounding Taiwan.
According to the report, 71 Chinese air force planes, including fighter jets and drones, had entered what is known as Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.
Despite the fact that it is a self-governing island, China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that it will someday reunite with. Over the course of the past few months, tensions between the two sides have progressively escalated.
Beijing was infuriated by a visit to the island in August by Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States. Pelosi was the most senior US official to visit Taiwan in the past 25 years.
In retaliation for the visit, China conducted what were at the time its largest-ever military drills in the waters around Taiwan and also restricted certain trade with the island.
Joseph Wu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan, denounced China’s action at the time as being extremely provocative. China has never stated that it would not resort to the use of force to subjugate Taiwan under its rule.
On Monday, the Ministry of Defense of Taiwan said that 43 Chinese aircraft had flown over the so-called median line, which serves as an unofficial buffer between the two sides inside the air defense zone.
China announced on Sunday that it has carried out “strike drills” in the region surrounding Taiwan in reaction to what it referred to as “provocation” from both Taiwan and the United States. When it comes to Taiwan, the United States government in Washington has long attempted to walk a diplomatic tightrope.
On the one hand, it maintains its commitment to the One-China policy, which serves as the foundation of its diplomatic ties with Beijing. The United States acknowledges that there is only one legitimate Chinese government and maintains formal relations with Beijing rather than Taiwan as a result of this policy.
However, it also keeps Taiwan as a close ally and supplies armaments to the island nation in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act, which mandates that the United States must supply Taiwan with the capability to defend itself.