Noting that China's ongoing "unheard of" military activity in nearby waters is unilaterally undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and disrupting international shipping and trade, Taiwan urged Beijing to end these drills.
53 #PLA aircraft, 11 PLA Navy vessels and 8 official ships were detected operating around #Taiwan until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today.
— Indo-Pacific News - Geo-Politics & Defense (@IndoPac_Info) December 11, 2024
23 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern, southwestern and eastern ADIZ. pic.twitter.com/eAbOsOVg5G
The Taiwan foreign ministry, in a statement, said it was responding in part to the activities of a large number of Chinese naval and coast guard ships in the first-island chain, the Pacific archipelago off the Asian continental mainland that includes Japan, Taiwan and part of the Philippines.
Taiwan defence officials say they have detected Chinese ships since Monday, both off Taiwan and farther out along the first-island chain. They described the formations as two walls designed to demonstrate that the waters belong to China.
Taiwan's defence ministry said on Wednesday it had detected 53 military aircraft operating around the island over the past 24 hours, as well as 11 navy vessels and eight "official" ships.
#China’s military appears to be up to something around #Taiwan - AP
— Indo-Pacific News - Geo-Politics & Defense (@IndoPac_Info) December 10, 2024
"China’s navy is creating two walls — one at Taiwan’s perimeter and another outside the first island chain, which extends south from Japan and through Taiwan to the Philippines," Lt. Gen. Hsieh Jih-sheng said.… pic.twitter.com/xDZUKol4mI
According to Taiwan, the scale and size of the ongoing Chinese operations, including the manpower being dispatched, was "unheard of" in recent years. "We have not seen anything like this in at least the past few years," a security diplomat has been quoted as saying.
China restricted airspace off its southeast coast from Monday to Wednesday, a sign that it was planning to hold drills. However, the People's Liberation Army has not confirmed about the drills.
Taiwan has been expecting drills following stops by its president, Lai Ching-te, in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during an overseas trip last week. China claims self-governing Taiwan as its territory and opposes any official contact with America and other foreign governments.
READ MORE: China slams US, Canadian warships' Taiwan Strait transit
According to Reuters, a senior Taiwanese official said they believed the surge in military activity by China is intended as a political message to the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
China did not comment directly on any military exercises but said in a statement posted online Wednesday that the government would not let provocations by Taiwan in collusion with external forces go unchecked.
"We will absolutely not let things go unchecked. We will take necessary measures to resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and safeguard the fundamental interests of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait," said Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the government's Taiwan Affairs Office.
