Taiwan on high alert as 59 Chinese aircraft swarm island's borders

Taiwan detected 59 Chinese aircraft around the self-ruled island, the defence ministry said Tuesday, the highest tally since a record in October and days after Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te called China a “foreign hostile force”.

China insists democratic Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring the island under its control.

Beijing has ramped up the deployment of fighter jets and naval vessels around Taiwan in recent years to press its claim of sovereignty, which Taipei rejects.

Taiwan also accuses China of using espionage, cyberattacks and disinformation to weaken its defences.

Along with the 59 aircraft, nine Chinese warships and two balloons were also detected in the 24 hours to 6:00 am (2200 GMT), the defence ministry said.

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It was the highest number of Chinese aircraft registered since a record 153 were reported on October 15, after China staged large-scale military drills in response to Lai’s National Day speech days earlier.

Of the aircraft detected in the past 24 hours, 54 had taken part in “joint combat” patrols, the ministry said in separate statements.

The Chinese foreign ministry said Monday the actions were a “resolute response to external forces’ wilful connivance and support for Taiwan independence and a stern warning to the Taiwan independence separatist forces”.

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China also repeated its criticism of a US decision to remove a reference to the status of Taiwan from the State Department website.

The United States does not diplomatically recognise Taiwan but remains its main security backer and in February removed a line from a State Department fact sheet that stated: “We do not support Taiwan independence”.

“This is another egregious example of the US deliberately pursuing the policy of using Taiwan to contain China and condoning and supporting Taiwan independence,” the ministry said.

Last Thursday, Lai branded China a “foreign hostile force”, as he proposed measures to combat deepening Chinese infiltration in the island.

The number of people prosecuted for spying for Beijing has risen sharply, with retired and serving members of Taiwan’s military the main targets of Chinese infiltration efforts, official figures show.

Taipei’s top policy body on China, the Mainland Affairs Council, said Tuesday that China’s “aggressive military expansion threatens peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the region”.

“It has already become a universally recognised and undeniable troublemaker,” MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said.