Taiwan's Defense Ministry announced that it had detected 33 Chinese aircraft and eight warships in 24 hours in its airspace and waters.
This is the largest Chinese military deployment around Taiwan in more than three weeks. Taiwan also spotted a balloon – the fourth since Sunday – about 172 kilometers west of the island.
In recent years, China has increased its military activity around the island to pressure Taipei into accepting its sovereignty claims. It deploys fighter planes, drones and warships in the region almost daily.
Lai Ching-te, who openly defends Taiwan's sovereignty, leaves Saturday to visit the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, the only Pacific nations among Taiwan's 12 remaining allies.
During this tour, Lai Ching-te, in power since May, will spend two nights in Hawaii and one night in Guam, where he will meet with
and
according to a source at the presidency on condition of anonymity.
Taiwanese officials have already stopped on American soil during trips to the Pacific or Latin America, provoking the anger of Chinese leaders. Lai Ching-te's predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, also passed through Hawaii and Guam during her first official visit to the Pacific allies in 2017.
“The Chinese (military) has the sacred mission of protecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity and will resolutely crush all secessionist attempts for Taiwan's independence”
warned Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Defense, at a press conference on Thursday.
As of Thursday evening, the Taiwanese military had deployed planes, ships and coastal missile systems after detecting 19 Chinese aircraft near the island.
“It is not excluded that there will be a large-scale military exercise in response to Lai Ching-te's visit to Hawaii”
said Su Tzu-yun, a military expert from the Taiwan Institute for National Defense and Security Research, interviewed by the press.
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