Taiwan said on Wednesday that it had spotted 35 Chinese military aircraft around the island within hours, some of which were headed to the western Pacific to join the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong as part of “joint sea and air training.”
Taipei’s Defense Ministry said the devices, including fighter jets and drones, had been detected since 6 a.m. Wednesday (10 p.m. GMT Tuesday).
About 28 aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and some fighter aircraft “crossed the Bashi Channel into the Western Pacific to conduct joint sea and air exercises with the aircraft carrier Shandong,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The armed forces monitored the situation and deployed air patrol aircraft, naval vessels and land-based missile systems [d’y] react,” the press release continues.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry has noted an increase in Chinese naval and air strikes around the island in recent days.
The ministry said on Tuesday it had detected 22 fighter jets and 20 military ships around Taiwan between Monday and Tuesday morning.
The aircraft carrier Shandong was spotted Monday about 60 nautical miles (111 kilometers) southeast of the island’s southernmost point.
Beijing has not yet commented on these exercises at this time. But the Western Theater Command, which organizes the maneuvers around Taiwan, said Wednesday that an “air unit” had “recently” conducted exercises within a radius of several “thousands of kilometers,” without mentioning the island.
On Saturday, a Chinese military spokesman said Chinese soldiers were “constantly on high alert” following the passage of two American and Canadian ships through the Taiwan Strait.
The U.S. Navy said it involved the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the frigate HMCS Ottawa, and that the transit “reinforces the United States’ commitment to its 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 following a meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.
Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion from Beijing, which views the autonomous island as part of its territory to be retaken by force if necessary.