Taiwan says Chinese jets carried out ‘combat readiness’ patrols

Nine Chinese fighter jets and a military drone crossed the centerline in the Taiwan Strait in 24 hours.

Ten Chinese aircraft have crossed the centerline of the Taiwan Strait, normally an unofficial barrier between the two sides, Taiwan’s defense ministry said, as Beijing continues its military activities near the island.

Nine Chinese warplanes and a military drone crossed the centerline in the 24 hours to 6 a.

m. local time (8 p.m. GMT on Friday) on Saturday, the ministry said in a daily report on Chinese military activity.

Taiwan sent fighter jets to warn the Chinese plane away while missile systems monitored them, the ministry said, using standard terms for its response.

Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained in recent years about almost daily missions by the Chinese air force near the democratically governed island, often in the southwestern part of its air defense identification zone.

Nine Chinese aircraft that crossed the centerline on Friday were conducting combat-ready patrols, an action that Taiwan’s defense ministry said “deliberately created tension” and undermined peace and stability.

Beijing has threatened unspecified retaliation if Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, now touring Central America, meets with Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy as she travels across the US on her trip to Latin America.

Tsai arrived in Guatemala on Friday on a visit to strengthen ties with dwindling allies after Honduras became the latest country to cut diplomatic ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing. She will also visit neighboring Belize.

Tsai is expected to meet McCarthy in Los Angeles on her way back to Taipei from Central America later this month.

Washington had said there was no reason for China to “overreact” to the “normal, boring” trip, while Beijing warned that the US was “playing with fire” over Tsai being hosted by US officials.

China staged war games around Taiwan in August after then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei and has continued military activity near Taiwan, albeit on a smaller scale.

A senior Taiwanese official familiar with the island’s security planning told Reuters this week that China was unlikely to repeat such large exercises, but that all preparations had been made in case China reacted “irrationally”.