Taiwan reports 68 Chinese aircraft, 10 vessels in proximity

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
14 Sep 2023 08:27

The batch of aircraft includes fighters and drones.

Taiwan national flag flutters near the Taipei 101 building at the National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall in Taiwan on May 7, 2023 (AP)

Taiwan claimed that China deployed 68 warplanes and 10 navy vessels near the island during the past 24 hours.

"68 PLA aircraft and 10 PLA vessels around Taiwan were detected" between Wednesday and Thursday morning, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The warplanes include 35 warplanes detected on Wednesday morning. Taipei said they were headed to an unspecified area in the Western Pacific to "conduct joint sea and air training with the Shandong aircraft carrier."

The batch of aircraft, including fighters and drones, was detected at 6:00 AM, on Wednesday (2200 GMT Tuesday), Taipei's Defense Ministry said.

On Saturday, China announced that its troops were "on constant high alert" after a US destroyer and a Canadian frigate sailed through the Taiwan Strait. The US Navy said the ships were the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and HMCS Ottawa, claiming that the transit "demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific."

It is noteworthy that China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to return the island under its control.

On his part, during his profile visits to India and Vietnam last week, US President Joe Biden expressed that relations with China's neighbors are not meant to "contain" Beijing or "hurt China", rather the goal of the US is to "get the relationship right."

"I don’t want to contain China," he said, using the personal pronoun "I" during a news conference in Hanoi shortly after elevating the US-Vietnam relationship. "We’re not trying to hurt China, he said, speaking collectively, in reference to the country he presides.

"It’s not about containing China," Biden stressed, "It’s about having a stable base, a stable base in the Indo-Pacific."

Responding to reporters, Biden expressed, "We think too much in Cold War terms," adding that he was "sincere about getting the relationship right."

"I just want to make sure we have a relationship with China that is on the up and up, squared away. Everybody knows what it’s all about," Biden stated.