mandag 9. januar 2023

Chinese military stages large-scale military exercises around Taiwan

China sent 28 warplanes across the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Sunday as Beijing conducted its first large-scale military exercises around the island this year, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said. The 28 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) planes were among 57 spotted near Taiwan, the ministry said, adding they included J-10, J-11, J-16 and Su-30 fighters, H-6 bombers, three drones and an early warning and reconnaissance aircraft.

Taiwan tasked aircraft, naval vessels and land-based missile systems to respond to the Chinese activities, the ministry said. A map provided by the ministry showed PLA aircraft crossing the median line in seven places from north to south and flying through Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) south of the island, then turning slightly north to the east of the line.

A statement from the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command said its forces engaged in combat drills around Taiwan on Sunday. “The exercise focused on land strikes, sea assaults and other subjects, aiming to test the troops’ joint combat capability and resolutely counter the collusive and provocative acts of the external forces and the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces,” according to a statement posted on the state-run China Military Online.