China Pressures Taiwan with Military Aircraft and Warships... Taiwan Releases Close-Range Surveillance Photos

China reacted strongly against Lai Ching-te, the Vice President of Taiwan, visiting Paraguay via the United States, launching large-scale military exercises in the Taiwan Strait. In response, Taiwan released photos showing Chinese warships being closely monitored.

On the morning of the 20th, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense announced via social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that from 6 a.m. the previous day to 6 a.m. on the 20th, they detected 45 military aircraft and 9 warships belonging to the Chinese People's Liberation Army in the surrounding sea and airspace of Taiwan.

Among these, 27 military aircraft?including 9 SU-30 fighters, 4 J-11 fighters, 12 J-10 fighters, 1 Y-9 electronic warfare aircraft, and 1 Z-9 anti-submarine helicopter?crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or entered Taiwan's southwestern Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) before retreating, the ministry reported.

Last April, three military ships belonging to Taiwan's amphibious reconnaissance patrol unit were patrolling the Matsu Islands, the country's frontline close to the coast of Fujian Province, China.

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

The Ministry of National Defense stated that naval and air forces were dispatched to respond to China's show of force. They also released five photos, including one showing a soldier aboard the guided missile frigate Tiandan looking through binoculars at the Chinese frigate Xuzhou. Some photos are clear enough to visually identify the structure of the Xuzhou ship.

This appears to be a countermeasure against the joint naval and air patrols and exercises conducted by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese military around Taiwan's surrounding sea and airspace. A spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command said, "We focused on training for coordination between ships and aircraft, sea and air control, and assessed the combat readiness of the command’s joint operations units," adding, "This is a stern warning against the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces colluding with external forces to provoke."

The Ministry of National Defense said, "In response to China's provocations, our troops maintained their positions 24 hours a day, closely monitoring the enemy situation," and emphasized, "We will not back down in defending the median line, territorial waters, and sovereignty."

Earlier, Lai, who is leading in the polls among Taiwan's next presidential candidates, arrived in Paraguay on the 12th via New York as a special envoy of President Tsai Ing-wen to attend the inauguration of Santiago Pe?a, the new president of Paraguay, a South American country with diplomatic ties to Taiwan. Lai then returned to Taiwan on the early morning of the 18th via San Francisco.

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