An escalation of tensions that worries the whole world. Taiwan claimed Thursday (September 14) that China had flown 68 military aircraft and deployed 10 warships near its shores within hours. “Sixty-eight People’s Liberation Army aircraft and ten Chinese navy ships were detected” between Wednesday September 13 and Thursday morning September 14 around Taiwan, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said in a statement. Beijing considers the autonomous island as part of its territory, which it could one day seize by force.
The day before, Taipei reported detecting thirty-five military aircraft around the island in a matter of hours, some heading to the Western Pacific to join China’s aircraft carrier Shandong as part of “joint maritime and air training.” . The Shandong is one of two operational aircraft carriers in the Chinese fleet. It had been detected on Monday about 60 nautical miles (111 kilometers) southeast of the southernmost point of the island.
On Wednesday, the Japanese Defense Ministry also said six ships — including frigates, destroyers, a fast combat support ship and the Shandong — that were sailing in waters 650 kilometers south of Miyakojima Island , which is east of Taiwan, were detected by its navy. Japanese defense further confirmed that fighter jets and helicopters had been spotted taking off and landing from Shandong.
On Saturday, a Chinese military spokesperson said that Chinese soldiers remained “on constant high alert” after two American and Canadian ships passed through the Taiwan Strait. The US Navy said it was an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, the USS Ralph Johnson, and the frigate HMCS Ottawa, noting that the transit “demonstrates the United States’ commitment, of their allies and partners in favor of a free and open “Indo-Pacific” region”.
In April, Beijing conducted military exercises simulating an encirclement of the island, after a meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and the Speaker of the American House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, in California. Taiwan lives under constant threat of invasion by Beijing, which views the autonomous island as part of its territory to be reconquered by force if necessary.
In August 2022, the Chinese army launched major military maneuvers around Taiwan after the visit of Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the House of Representatives in the US Congress.