TAIPEI (Reuters) – The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday that it has spotted 53 Chinese military planes around Taiwan, while the island has been on alert for several days.
The Chinese army, which has not yet commentary, has not confirmed to carry out military exercises around the island.
Taiwan expects Beijing, who considers the island as a Chinese territory, launching a new series of military exercises in response to the recent displacement of the Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te in the Pacific.
The Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that 53 military planes had been spotted in the last twenty-four hours around Taiwan.
Eleven ships of the Chinese navy and eight “official” boats, a term that refers to civil agencies like the coast guard, were also reported.
An American military official said that the deployment of Chinese army ships in the Southern China Sea and in the East China Sea was important, but in accordance with other large -scale exercises organized in the past.
An emergency intervention center has been put in place and the alert level was noted in Taiwan after China established seven areas of aerial space reserved and sent in particular naval fleets in the waters near the ‘island.
(Ben Blanchard and Jeanny Kao; French version Camille Raynaud)
Belgium
