TAIPEI: Taiwan said on Wednesday that China sent 43 military aircraft and seven ships near the self-ruled island, the latest sign that Beijing plans no let-up in its campaign of harassment, threats and intimidation.
Taiwan’s defenceministry said 37 of the aircraft had crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait, which China no longer recognises as an informal divider between the sides.It said Taiwan had monitored the situation, scrambled jet fighters, dispatched ships and activated land-based missile systems, all standard responses to Chinese military activities, which include crossing into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone but not into its actual airspace. China’s military maneuvers are seen as intended to break down Taiwanese morale, exhausting its pilots and other personnel and wearing down its equipment.
At an international defence forum in Beijing on Monday, China’s second-ranking military official Gen. Zhang Youxia reiterated threats by the Chinese government to retaliate against moves toward establishing Taiwan’s formal independence, saying that “no matter who tries to split Taiwan from China in any form, China and the Chinese military will never allow that to happen.”