Taiwanese Defense Ministry says China deployed 8 ships, 23 planes near Island
Taipei: Eight ships of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), as well as 23 planes, have been detected near Taiwan, the island nation's defense ministry said on Sunday.
"8 PLAN vessels and 23 PLA [People's Liberation Army] aircraft around our surrounding region were detected today (August 28, 2022) until 1700(GMT+8). #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and responded to these activities with aircraft in CAP [combat air patrol], naval vessels, and land-based missile systems," the ministry tweeted.
According to the ministry, ten aircraft had crossed the so-called "median line" of the Taiwan Strait, which serves as an unofficial maritime border between the island and mainland China.
"10 of the detected aircraft (SU-30, J-10*2, J-11*3, J-16*2, Y-8 ASW and WZ-10 Attack) had flown on the east part of the median line of the Taiwan Strait and our SW ADIZ, flight paths as illustrated," the ministry stated.
Taiwan became alienated from Beijing after becoming a stronghold of the Chinese Nationalist Party (the Kuomintang) that suffered defeat by the Communist Party in a civil war in 1949. The Chinese mainland and the island resumed business and informal contact in the late 1980s.
The situation around the island nation escalated after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island on August 2-3.
The visit was followed by another US delegation led by US Senator Edward J. Markey on August 14 and the visit of Eric Holcomb, the governor of the US state of Indiana, on August 21, triggering yet another wave of China's military maneuvers near the island.
Another US delegation led by Sen. Marsha Blackburn arrived in Taiwan for a three-day visit on Thursday evening, media reported.
(With UNI inputs)
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