Taiwan’s military forces responded to China’s second major military exercise near the island within a seven-day period, deploying naval vessels and fighter aircraft for monitoring operations.
Beijing has intensified military pressure on Taiwan through expanded naval and air operations in the region, prompting heightened vigilance from Taiwanese officials following recent discussions about Taiwan between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing.
Beijing considers the democratically-run island part of its sovereign territory and conducts near-daily military operations with naval vessels and aircraft in the area. Taiwan’s leadership disputes China’s territorial assertions.
Taiwan’s defense ministry reported Monday evening that surveillance detected 21 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighter jets and unmanned vehicles, conducting operations around the island’s perimeter alongside naval vessels in what officials termed a “joint combat readiness patrol.”
Beijing’s defense ministry has not yet provided comment regarding the military activities.
Taiwanese defense officials released three photographs captured by their personnel – including an image from an F-16 aircraft showing two Chinese fighters following a Y-20 refueling plane, a photo of the Chinese naval vessel Yinchuan, and documentation of a Taiwanese naval crew member observing the vessel with field glasses.
Beijing conducted a comparable “readiness patrol” the previous Tuesday, one day prior to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te commemorating his second anniversary in office. Chinese leadership regards Lai as a “separatist” and has rejected his repeated diplomatic overtures.
During the weekend, Taiwan reported that its coast guard encountered a Chinese coast guard vessel near the Taiwan-administered Pratas Islands, which hold strategic importance at the northern edge of the South China Sea.
On Saturday, Taiwan’s National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu used social media to highlight what he described as 100 Chinese vessels currently positioned in the first island chain, an area extending from Japan through Taiwan to the Philippines.
