The Chinese Air Force sent 42 aircraft on a combat patrol, crossing into Taiwan’s air defense zone and getting dangerously close to its airspace.
China and Taiwan have been dangerously coexisting since the fall of China to the Communists in 1949. Sporadic fighting and demonstrations between the two Chinese governments, sometimes including America, have been ongoing ever since. Fox News reports:
Taiwanese Vice President William Lai’s trip to Paraguay included stops in both New York City and San Francisco, which China’s Communist Party blasted, saying the island is its territory and shouldn’t be conducting foreign relations.
In a tweet on X, the company formerly known as Twitter, the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense said it detected 42 Chinese military aircraft, with 26 of them crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
This is the largest Chinese demonstration against Taiwan in many years, ratcheting up tensions and drawing neighboring states into the dispute. The BBC describes China’s statement:
The People’s Liberation Army “launched joint air and sea patrols and military exercises of the navy and air force around the island of Taiwan” on Saturday, military spokesperson Shi Yi is quoted by Xinhua as saying.
The exercises would serve as a “stern warning to the collusion of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists with foreign elements and their provocations”, he added.
Based on the Russian experience in Ukraine, Taiwan’s defense is relatively assured for now. The crackdown against democracy in Hong Kong has soured many in Taiwan to eventual reintegration with China. However, should Taiwan waver and China make careful preparations, a real war could break out in the region.
READ NEXT: Asian Rivals Move Closer
