Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported Thursday that 35 Chinese planes had been detected around the island in 24 hours, after multiple intrusions since the inauguration of new President Lai Ching-te in Taipei. Seven vessels were also spotted in the 24-hour period up to 10 p.m. GMT on Wednesday, according to the ministry.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will never renounce the use of force to take control of the democratic island. It has stepped up pressure on Taipei in recent years and held military exercises around the island in May, after the inauguration of Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing considers a “dangerous separatist”.
During the military exercises around Taiwan, Beijing mobilized military ships and aircraft loaded with live ammunition, claiming that it was a “severe punishment” against the “separatists.” According to the Taiwanese Defense Ministry, the Chinese military had sent up to 62 military aircraft around Taiwan in one day.
After the maneuvers, Beijing vowed that military pressure on the island would continue “as long as provocations related to Taiwan independence continue.” President Lai said Monday that China had “no right to punish” the Taiwanese, after Beijing included the death penalty in new criminal sanctions targeting suspected Taiwanese secessionists the previous week.
Ties between the two sides will deteriorate if China “does not accept the existence of the Republic of China and engage in exchanges… with the democratically elected and legitimate government of Taiwan,” Lai added, referring to Taiwan by the island’s official name.
