(Adnkronos) – Chinese pressure on Taiwan continues. The Taipei Defense Ministry reports that it has detected the presence of 33 aircraft and eight Chinese military ships around the island, which Beijing claims as its territory, in 24 hours. Twenty-one aircraft, Taipei reports, have crossed the so-called median line of the Taiwan Strait, which the Asian giant does not recognize. The presence of a Chinese balloon was also reported, as reported via X, after those ‘intercepted’ in recent days. The news comes on the eve of the departure of Taiwanese President William Lai (Lai Ching-te) for his first trip abroad since taking office in May, after the January elections.
The seven-day mission to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau – among the island’s 12 allies, the only countries in the world that recognize its government without adhering to the “one China” principle dear to Beijing – will include stops in Hawaii and Guam, as confirmed by the Taipei presidency and reported by the CNA agency. Stops that have further aroused Beijing’s ire.
The People’s Republic considers Lai a “dangerous separatist” and has always strongly opposed “transit diplomacy”, the passage of Taiwanese leaders through US territory. The Chinese military “will decisively crush” any attempt at “Taiwan independence”, they said yesterday from Beijing, while Taipei confirmed that it had conducted its own military exercises with jets and anti-missile systems. Maneuvers arrived while rumors of possible new Chinese war games around Taiwan are chasing each other.
