91 Chinese planes, 12 warships detected around Taiwan in last 12 hours

By Firdevs Bulut Kartal

TORONTO (AA) - Ninety-one military aircraft and 12 warships belonging to China were detected around Taiwan from yesterday morning until today, the third day of a military exercise organized by the Chinese army around the island, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said early Tuesday.

"91 PLA aircraft and 12 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities," the ministry said on Twitter.

It said "54 of the detected aircraft had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest and southeast ADIZ. Currently, there are 8 vessels still operating in the waters surrounding Taiwan. We will continue to keep a close watch on the movements.”

Flights and ship patrols around the island are estimated to be connected to the activities of the Chinese army's military drill launched after Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen's visits to Central America and the US.

The Eastern Front Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, responsible for the region where Taiwan is located, announced on April 8 that it had started a joint military exercise involving land, air, naval and rocket forces around the island.

Beijing said Monday that its latest military drills encircling Taiwan are a "stern warning to Taiwan secessionist forces and their collusion with external forces."

The Taiwanese president denounced the drills and pledged to work with "the US and other like-minded countries" in the face of what she called "continued authoritarian expansionism."

China views self-ruled Taiwan as its territory.