Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Aug 17: As another US legislative delegation visited the island, 17 Chinese military aircraft and 5 ships breached the Taiwan Strait’s median line.
As of Monday at 5 p.m., Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) had tracked five ships and 17 military planes of China.
Ten Chinese aircraft, including four Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft, three Shenyang J-11 jet fighters, two Shenyang J-16 jet fighters, and one Shaanxi Y-8 transport aircraft, crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, according to the MND, out of the 17 People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft.
Taiwan deployed shore-based missile systems and sent combat air patrol ships and aircraft to keep an eye on Chinese military ships and aircraft, according to Taiwan News.
A day after a US congressional delegation arrived in Taipei, China’s military claimed to have undertaken combat alert patrols and military exercises in the oceans and airspace surrounding Taiwan on Monday, according to CNN.
Less than two weeks after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-governing island infuriated China and sparked extensive military drills in the Taiwan Strait, a new group of US lawmakers is in Taiwan.
Sen. Ed Markey is leading a legislative delegation from the US that landed in Taipei on Sunday for a two-day surprise visit.
According to CNN, China’s military declared last Wednesday that the exercises had been “effectively accomplished,” but it also promised to “frequently undertake” more patrols in the vicinity of the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan has never been under the sovereignty of China, but the country’s ruling Chinese Communist Party nevertheless regards it as a part of its territory and has long promised to “reunite” the island with the Chinese mainland, using force if necessary.
