Communist China carried out a massive incursion into Taiwan’s air defense zone over the weekend. More than 90 Chinese warplanes have beached Taiwanese air space since Friday.
While China has repeatedly violated Taiwanese air defense zone in recent years, a record number of Chinese fighter jets and bombers took part in the breach this time. The BBC described it as the “largest incursion by Beijing to date.” Beijing even deployed two nuclear-capable bombers as part of the maneuver, the new reports confirmed.
The Associated Press reported China’s latest act of aggression against the tiny neighbor:
China flew more than 30 military planes toward Taiwan on Saturday, the second large display of force in as many days.Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said 39 aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone in two sorties, one during the day and one at night. That followed a similar pattern on Friday, when 38 planes flew into the area south of the self-governing island.China claims Taiwan, which lies off its east coast, as its territory. The two split in 1949 during a civil war in which the Communists took control of mainland China and the rival Nationalists set up a government on Taiwan. The Communist Party marked the 72nd anniversary of its rule on Friday.Taiwan’s premier, Su Tseng-chang, spoke out on Saturday against the first day’s flights.“China has always conducted brutal and barbarian actions to jeopardize regional peace,” he said while attending the opening ceremony of a science park in southern Taiwan.China has been sending military planes into the area south of Taiwan on a frequent basis for more than a year. The 38 and 39 planes on Friday and Saturday were the most in a single day since Taiwan began releasing reports on the flights, Taiwan’s Central News Agency said.The Defense Ministry said 20 planes took part in the daytime flights on Saturday and another 19 at night. It identified most of them as J-17 and SU-30 fighter jets.
Another 16 warplanes beached the air defense space on Sunday, Taiwan’s ministry of defense disclosed.
The latest act of aggression comes as Beijing celebrates the 72nd anniversary of the founding of Communist China. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regards Taiwan as unfinished business and wants to annex the independent island nation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to “reunite” the country with the Mainland. “Xi Jinping pledged … complete ‘reunification’ with self-ruled Taiwan and vowed to ‘smash’ any attempts at formal independence,” the Reuters reported in late July.
Since U.S. President Joe Biden took office, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA ) has taken an increasingly aggressive stance against Taiwan and other Asian neighbors.
The PLA has launched “cross-service” combat exercises to prepare for war with Taiwan and other Asian neighbors, the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post reported in late January. “Improving joint operation capabilities necessary for the most likely combat scenarios for the PLA, such as a campaign against Taiwan,” the newspaper reported citing Chinese sources.
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