TAIPEI — Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Thursday it had detected a surge of Chinese warplanes flying off its east, west and south coasts in what a security source said was China simulating attacks to prevent foreign forces helping during a conflict.
Democratically governed Taiwan, which Beijing views as its own territory, has complained of stepped up Chinese military activity over the past five years. Taiwan’s government rejects China’s sovereignty claims.
In its daily report on Chinese military movements in the past 24 hours, Taiwan’s defense ministry said it had detected 43 Chinese military aircraft operating around the island, at least 11 of which had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait that previously served as an unofficial barrier.
Of the 43 aircraft, 23 flew to the south of Taiwan through the Bashi Channel separating Taiwan from the Philippines and then up along Taiwan’s east coast, according to a map provided by the ministry, though not into territorial air space.
The ministry said on Wednesday that Chinese aircraft were engaged in long-range missions around Taiwan.
A security source familiar with the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, said the flights were part of annual Chinese drills.
The People’s Liberation Army was conducting simulated attacks in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, meant to practice assess denial to “stop foreign assistance” in the event of conflict in the region, the source said.
The Chinese air force also conducted drills to seize “air dominance” in waters off Taiwan’s southwestern coast and practiced air refueling in waters around the Bashi Channel, the source added.
China’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China last staged full-fledged war games around Taiwan in late May shortly after Lai Ching-te took office as Taiwan’s new president. Beijing detests him and describes him as a “separatist”.
Lai says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future and has repeatedly offered talks with Beijing but has been rebuffed.
—Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Jamie Freed
