Taiwan's air force scrambled fighter jets Sunday after a war party of 10 Chinese aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait for the second time in days.
Taiwanese officials say they detected 24 Chinese fighter jets and bombers in the air, but only 10 crossed the median line. The line has long served as a barrier for both Tiawanese and Chinese forces, but Beijing has grown increasingly belligerent in recent months and has crossed the line multiple times.
China also deployed four warships for "joint combat readiness patrols" in the area.
The Sunday crossing comes just days after 37 Chinese warplanes entered Taiwan's air defense zone on Thursday.
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The frequent median crossings come amid a wider Chinese campaign of aggression toward Taiwan, which has seen Chinese forces surround the self-governed island to simulate an invasion.
China's largest military operations in the region have come in response to meetings between top U.S. and Taiwanese officials. Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled to Taiwan in August 2022, setting off the first wave of live-fire drills around the island.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen also traveled to the U.S. earlier this year and met with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, setting off another wave of aggression from Beijing.
Mainland China has long claimed Taiwan as its own territory. The island split from China in 1949, when democratic forces fled there after losing a civil war to the Chinese Communist Party.
President Biden's administration has adopted a policy of "strategic ambiguity" on whether the U.S. would intervene militarily if China attempted to invade Taiwan. Biden himself has stated multiple times that the U.S. would do so, but White House staff have walked back the statement each time.
China argues visits by U.S. lawmakers to Taiwan infringe on the One China policy, which recognizes Beijing as the sole government of China and prevents the U.S. from holding formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated earlier this month that a war with China around Taiwan would be "devastating" for the global economy.
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"The whole world has a stake in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. The security of commercial shipping lanes and global supply chains depends on it," Austin said. "And so does freedom of navigation worldwide. Make no mistake: conflict in the Taiwan Strait would be devastating."
Xenomonarchy on June 11st, 2023 at 19:58 UTC »
This is a weekly occurrence.
Herzyr on June 11st, 2023 at 17:45 UTC »
They certainly are ramping up military readyness, one of those rodeos had 37 planes, this time around 10? And they get to probe reaction times while at it, but this keeps taiwan sharp too in a way.
So far this looks wolf warrior shenanigans but the day when a military buildup starts is when all of us can collectively clench our bottoms..
moses_the_red on June 11st, 2023 at 15:44 UTC »
Submission Statement:
China has been acting particularly aggressive lately.
In the last week, China has:
Committed a dangerous intercept of an American surveillance plane with a J-10 fighter. Played Chicken with an American Destroyer, dangerously crossing its path. Invaded Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone with a force of fighter and bomber aircraft. Invaded South Korea's Air Defense Identification Zone - along with Russian planesAnd now, China has invaded Taiwan's air defense identification zone - AGAIN.
This comes on the heels of US talks intended to get China to stop taking actions which could lead to inadvertent escalation. The US has been telling China that it might wind up escalating things inadvertently, and China is clearly taking provocative actions anyway.
This new spate of activity also comes soon after an ominous speech by China's dictator Xi in which he said that China's security apparatus must be ready for anything in all domains as it appears that there are stormy seas ahead.
Xi has ordered the Chinese military to be prepared for an invasion of Taiwan by 2027. Xi's childhood friend former drinking buddy has - in a recent book interview - claimed that Xi will invade Taiwan in 2025 if Taiwan's elections result in independence candidates being elected.