China's ‘largest incursion’ in Taiwan, sends 71 warplanes, 7 ships in 24 hours

Taipei, Dec 26: China has made thelargest incursion into Taiwan's air defence zone this year with Taipei reporting 71 planes and seven ships entering the area in a 24-hour display of force directed at the island. This comes after China expressed anger at Taiwan-related provisions in a US annual defense spending bill passed on Saturday.

Between 6 am Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday, 47 of the Chinese planes crossed the median of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial boundary once tacitly accepted by both sides, according to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense. Among the planes China sent towards Taiwan were 18 J-16 fighter jets, 11 J-1 fighters, 6 Su-30 fighters and drones. Taiwan said it monitored the Chinese moves through its land-based missile systems, as well as on its own navy vessels.

''This is a firm response to the current US-Taiwan escalation and provocation,'' said Shi Yi, the spokesman for the PLA's Eastern Theater Command, in a statement on Sunday night. It announced that the PLA was holding joint combat patrols and joint strike drills in the waters around Taiwan.

Shi was referring to the US defense spending bill, which calls China a strategic challenge. With regard to the Indo-Pacific region, the legislation authorizes increased security cooperation with Taiwan and requires expanded cooperation with India on emerging defense technologies, readiness and logistics.

Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen said that there is a need for Taiwan to boost its defence capacity due to "the continuous expansion of authoritarianism". "The more preparations we make, the less likely there will be rash attempts of aggression. The more united we are, the stronger and safer Taiwan would become," Tsai Ing-wen said.

China's military harassment of self-ruled Taiwan, which it claims is its own territory, has intensified in recent years, and the Communist Party's People's Liberation Army has sent planes or ships toward the island on a near-daily basis.

China's military has often used large military exercises as a demonstration of force in response to U.S. government actions in support of Taiwan. It conducted large live-fire military exercises in August in response to US House speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. Beijing views visits from foreign governments to the island as de facto recognition of the island as independent and a challenge to China's claim of sovereignty.