News Desk
ISLAMABAD/TAIPEI: At least 71 Chinese air force aircraft including fighter jets and drones staged drills in Taiwan’s air defence zone in the last 24 hours, the Taiwan said on Monday.
Chinese drills
The Chinese drills included 43 Chinese aircraft crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line, an informal buffer between the two sides within the defence zone.
In a statement, Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said that Beijing continued military activities close to the Chinese-claimed island, Reuters said.
Taiwan’s official Central News Agency said in a report that it was the largest Chinese air force exercises to date, although there was no sense of alarm in Taiwan, which had witnessed a steady uptick in Chinese pressure in recent years.
China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, said in a statement that it had conducted “strike drills” in airspace and in the sea around Taiwan on Sunday in response to provocation from the island and the US.
Taiwan, which strongly rejects China’s sovereignty claims, said that the drills showed Beijing was destroying regional peace and attempting to intimidate Taiwan.
Speaking at a military ceremony on Monday morning Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, said Taiwan needed to boost its defence to counter continuous Chinese expansionism. However, she made no mention of the latest military activity.
