The pressure does not subside. According to a press release from the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense released Thursday, January 18, 24 Chinese planes and five ships were detected around the island in the last 24 hours.
Of these, “11 aircraft crossed the median line – an unofficial demarcation between China and Taiwan that the former does not recognize – and entered the southwest Air Defense Identification Zone (Adiz) and from the north,” said the same source.
This is Beijing’s biggest show of force around the island since the Taiwanese presidential election.
Voters in Taiwan on Saturday elected Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as president, who promised to protect the territory from Beijing’s “threats and intimidation.” China, which considers the island of Taiwan as one of its provinces, to be reunified by force if necessary, described Mr. Lai as a dangerous separatist and threatened his supporters with harmful consequences.
Two days after this election, Nauru, a small Pacific nation of 12,500 inhabitants, announced on Monday that it was severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which it now recognizes “as an inalienable part of Chinese territory”.
Taiwanese authorities report almost daily incursions by aircraft from the Chinese army, which last year carried out major military maneuvers around the island. In September, it sent 103 planes around Taiwan in the space of 24 hours, which Taipei called a “record.”