Taipei, Oct 10 (EFE).- More than 20 Chinese army aircraft operated near Taiwan during the last 24 hours, just before the commemoration of the island’s national day, official sources reported Thursday.
In a statement, the territory’s defense ministry said 27 Chinese aircraft flew near the island between 6am local time on Wednesday (22:00 GMT on Tuesday) and 6am on Thursday.
Fifteen crossed the Taiwan Strait dividing line, an unofficial border respected by Taipei and Beijing for decades, and flew over the northern, central and southwestern region of Taiwan’s self-proclaimed Air Defense Identification Zone, without entering the island’s airspace.
“The Armed Forces of the Republic of China have monitored the situation and used mission aircraft, Navy ships and coastal missile systems in response to the detected activities,” said the military ministry, which also reported the presence of 14 Chinese ships in the last 24 hours.
In a separate statement, the ministry said that since 12:50 local time on Wednesday it had detected successive incursions by Chinese aircraft, including Su-30 fighter jets and KJ-500 early warning aircraft, coordinating with warships to carry out “joint combat readiness patrols.”
National security sources cited by state news agency CNA said the Chinese army could carry out military maneuvers near the island this week, using as a pretext the speech Taiwan’s President William Lai will give Thursday to commemorate the national day.
This operation would be launched regardless of the content of the speech, the same sources said.
Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai on Tuesday urged Beijing to exercise restraint and avoid actions that “disturb security in the Indo-Pacific region.”
Lai will deliver his first speech to mark National Day as president, for a date that commemorates the start of the Oct. 10, 1911 Xinhai Revolution, which ended with the overthrow of the last imperial dynasty and the creation of Taiwan.
Following the communist troops’ civil war victory, Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of modern China on Oct. 1, 1949, which pushed Taiwan’s government, led at the time by nationalist Chiang Kai-shek, to withdraw to the island in December of that year.
Taiwan has been governed autonomously ever since, although its international status has been considerably reduced in recent years due to diplomatic pressure from Beijing, which claims sovereignty over the island. EFE
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