Ahead of Taiwan's Annual Military Drills... China Responds with High-Intensity 'Show of Force'

Chinese President Xi Jinping [Photo by Yonhap News]

China has launched a high-intensity military show of force around Taiwan ahead of Taiwan's annual military exercises.

On the 22nd, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported that from 6 a.m. the previous day to 6 a.m. on the 22nd, 37 military aircraft and 7 warships belonging to the Chinese People's Liberation Army were detected around Taiwan.

Among the military aircraft, 22 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or entered Taiwan's southwestern and eastern Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ).

According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, the Chinese military aircraft involved in this show of force included J-10 fighters, J-16 fighters, H-6 bombers, Y-9 electronic warfare aircraft, WZ-7 unmanned reconnaissance drones, KJ-500 early warning aircraft, TB-001 drones, Z-9 anti-submarine helicopters, and Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft.

Taiwan's military immediately scrambled fighter jets and activated air defense missile systems to track the aircraft.

The median line of the Taiwan Strait is an unofficial boundary declared in 1955 by U.S. Air Force General Benjamin Davis after the mutual defense treaty between the United States and Taiwan was signed in December 1954, intended to prevent military clashes between China and Taiwan.

On the same day, China also announced through navigation safety information that it will conduct live-fire exercises in the South China Sea from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the 24th. The training area is off the coast of Shantou City in eastern Guangdong Province, about 300 km away from Taiwan's western waters.

China's high-intensity show of force is interpreted as a response to the 'Han Kuang 39' exercises starting across Taiwan on the 24th.

Taiwan's military will conduct the annual Han Kuang field military exercises, which prepare for a Chinese invasion, across Taiwan from the 24th to the 28th. These exercises have been held annually since 1984 to assess Taiwan's defense and repulsion capabilities assuming a Chinese invasion.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.