China sends 68 warplanes and 10 Navy vessels around Taiwan in 24 hours weeks after the first-ever US military transfer of equipment to Democratic island

Taiwan said on Thursday that China had flown 68 warplanes and deployed 10 naval vessels to areas around the island in a single day, just weeks after the first-ever US military transfer of equipment to the island.

The raid came after Taipei said 35 Chinese warplanes were detected around the self-governing island on Wednesday, some of which then flew to the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong for naval exercises in the western Pacific.

“68 PLA aircraft and 10 PLAN ships around Taiwan were detected between Wednesday and Thursday morning,” Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement, referring to the Chinese army and navy.

Democratically governed Taiwan, which China considers its own territory, has complained in recent years about increased Chinese military activities near the island as Beijing seeks to assert its claims of sovereignty.

President Joe Biden’s administration for the first approved direct U.S. military assistance to Taiwan under an aid program targeting the foreign government in late August.

The State Department notified Congress of the $80 million package, which is small compared to recent sales to Taiwan but marks the first aid to Taipei under the Foreign Military Financing Program, which is typically includes grants or loans to sovereign countries.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said that from about 6 a.m. local time, Chinese warplanes, including J-10 fighter jets, had flown into the southwestern corner of the island’s Air Defense Identification Zone, or ADIZ.

Some of the Chinese aircraft crossed the Bashi Channel to conduct exercises with the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong in the Pacific Ocean, the ministry added.

China’s Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Taiwan’s armed forces were monitoring the situation, including sending its own air force aircraft and activating air defense systems, the ministry added, using the normal wording for its response to such Chinese incursions.

A Shandong-led Chinese naval formation has entered the western Pacific for training, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said on Monday.

Japan’s Defense Ministry later said its Maritime Self-Defense Force spotted the Shandong and five accompanying Chinese naval vessels, including two frigates and two missile destroyers, about 400 miles (640 kilometers) south of the southwestern Japanese island of Miyako on Wednesday morning.

Japan sent a destroyer to monitor the Chinese ships and confirmed that fighter jets and helicopters were conducting landing training on board the Shandong, the ministry added.

Then-Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022, the first speaker to do so in 25 years

The raid came after Taipei said 35 Chinese warplanes were detected around the self-governing island on Wednesday, some of which then flew to the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong for naval exercises in the western Pacific.

Democratically governed Taiwan, which China considers its own territory, has complained in recent years about increased Chinese military activities near the island as Beijing seeks to assert its claims of sovereignty.

In addition, more than 20 Chinese warships, including Type 055 destroyers, entered the Pacific Ocean through the Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait on Wednesday, a senior official familiar with security planning in the region told Reuters.

The Chinese naval maneuver, along with the aircraft carrier group training exercises, posed a “clear challenge” to the recent military activities of the United States and its allies in the region, the person said.

“They want to show that they have full control over the west of the first island chain,” the person said, referring to the area running from Japan through Taiwan, the Philippines and on to Borneo, which hugs China’s coastal seas.

An American and a Canadian warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday, the US Navy said. This is the second joint mission since June and coincided with the leaders of both countries attending the G20 Summit in India.

The two countries’ navies also conducted a series of exercises in the South China Sea this week, according to the US Navy.

China has stepped up its military operations around Taiwan in recent years in response to what it calls “collusion” between Taiwanese independence forces and the US.

For five decades, the United States has officially recognized only Beijing, although Congress, under the Taiwan Relations Act, demands the self-governing democracy be supplied with weapons for its defense.

The State Department emphasized that the first-ever assistance under the program did not include any recognition of Taiwan’s sovereignty.

President Joe Biden’s administration approved the first direct U.S. military assistance to Taiwan under an aid program targeting the foreign government in late August

View of Xiamen city in Fujian province from the beach of Dadan Island in Taiwan

“In accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act and our long-standing One China Policy, which has not changed, the United States is providing Taiwan with defense items and services necessary to enable the country to maintain adequate self-defense capabilities.” , a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

“The United States has an enduring interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, which is critical to regional and global security and prosperity.”

The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense expressed its gratitude. “The aid will contribute to regional peace and stability,” the report said in a brief statement.

China’s Ministry of Defense warned at a regular briefing about the aid that U.S. military aid to Taiwan would harm the island.

“US military aid and sales to Taiwan only fuel the US military-industrial complex, while harming the safety and well-being of Taiwanese compatriots,” spokesman Wu Qian told a briefing.

“In this regard, the People’s Liberation Army will, as always, take all necessary measures to decisively counter this,” he added, referring to the Chinese military by its official name.

The State Department did not formally announce the aid or provide details, but a person familiar with the announcement said the assistance would include support to raise awareness at sea.