China held military maneuvers around Taiwan on Saturday as a “stern warning”, according to state media. The island’s authorities immediately announced that they had detected 42 incursions by Chinese military aircraft into its air defense zone.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said it had “successively detected 42 ‘incursions’ since 9 a.m. (3 a.m. in Switzerland)” on Saturday. According to the same document, eight Chinese ships also participated in the maneuvers, which according to Beijing aimed to simulate “real combat conditions”.
Among these incursions, 26 warplanes crossed the middle line of the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said.
Airplanes and warships
The Taiwanese ministry said that “the national army is monitoring and using reconnaissance methods to strictly control” the situation, adding that it has sent planes and ships.
China announced earlier on Saturday that it had launched “joint air and sea patrols and naval and air force military exercises around the island of Taiwan”, according to the official Xinhua News Agency, citing an army spokesman.
William Lai’s visit to the United States
These exercises took place after Taiwanese Vice President William Lai stopped in New York and then San Francisco before and after a trip to Paraguay.
China reacted angrily to the U.S. stops and reaffirmed on Saturday that William Lai was a “troublemaker”, promising “stern warnings about the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists’ collusion with foreign elements and their provocations “.
>> Read: Taiwanese vice president arrives in New York, Beijing promises firm response
ats/jfe
2023-08-19 09:21:24
#China #launched #military #maneuvers #Taiwan
