Taiwan: record Chinese naval presence, Beijing threatens ‘reunification’

Eyrie: Taipei authorities report an unprecedented concentration of Chinese naval and air forces around the island in response to President William Lai’s visit

Dozens of Chinese naval units around Taiwan, never for years a fleet of such a scale around Taipei. The claim came from authorities on the island, which is de facto independent but which Beijing considers a “rebel province” to be “reunified.” “About 90” Navy and Coast Guard units remain in the waters of the so-called first island chain, a Taiwanese official told Afp news agency amid warnings of possible Chinese war games in response to the first overseas visit of Taiwan’s president, William Lai (Lai Ching-te), who also made stops in Hawaii and Guam in recent days, arousing Beijing’s ire.

Taipei’s Defense Ministry also reported that in 24 hours it detected the presence of 47 Chinese military aircraft near the island, the highest number since the record October 15, when 153 were reported, a ‘response’ by China to a speech by Lai, whom the People’s Republic considers a “dangerous separatist.”

Yesterday, at the same time as Taiwan initiated maneuvers, Beijing’s Foreign Ministry had reiterated that China would “firmly defend” its sovereignty.

According to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, the number of Chinese naval units in the waters around Taiwan is higher than Beijing’s ‘retaliation’ for the 2022 visit to Taipei by Nancy Pelosi, then speaker of the U.S. House.

For Sun Li-fang, Defense Ministry spokesman, “it can be said that the magnitude of these maritime forces is such that it exceeds the four exercises done since 2022.” According to Taipei’s reports, this time “not only forces from the ”Eastern Theater Command, but also from the Northern and Southern Theater Commands are included.”

So far there have been no announcements from the People’s Liberation Army or the Asian giant’s official media about further increased military activity in the East China Sea, Taiwan Strait, or South China Sea.

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