Chinese military escalates activity near Taiwan, crossing median line

Taiwanese authorities identified 20 out of 32 Chinese fighter jets that crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait. Five warships belonging to the Chinese People's Liberation Army were also identified.

Over the past 24 hours, 20 of the 32 identified Chinese fighter jets crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, serving as an unofficial boundary between China and Taiwan. The defence ministry in Taipei reported this incident on Thursday. This marks the second-largest surge of Chinese military activity in this region since the beginning of the year.

At the same time, Taiwan's defence ministry also identified five warships belonging to the Chinese People's Liberation Army operating near Taiwan.

The ministry emphasized that Taiwan dispatched its fighter jets and ships to monitor the situation in response to these violations. Additionally, missile defence systems were activated.

The Communist authorities of the People's Republic of China consider Taiwan, which is democratically governed, an "inalienable" part of its territory, aiming to take control over it, not ruling out the use of force.

At the end of January and the beginning of February, in two other 24-hour periods, Taiwan detected 33 Chinese fighter jets operating around the island. This followed the presidential elections in Taiwan, held on January 13 and won by the current Vice President, Lai Ching-te. Beijing considers him a "troublemaker" and a "separatist."

Lai and the Vice President-elect, Hsiao Bi-khim, from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, will take office on May 20.

The increased activity of the Chinese military this week may be related to Hsiao's recent visit to the Czech Republic. Chinese authorities criticized the visit, claiming it supported "Taiwanese independence (...) and is detrimental to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."

Recently, some parliamentarians from the ruling party and the main opposition party have urged the outgoing President Tsai Ing-Wen to visit Itu Aba island, which lies in the South China Sea and is claimed by China. Such a visit would be to affirm Taiwan's sovereignty over the island. Tsai's predecessors have already made such visits.

However, on Thursday, Taiwan's top security official stated that Tsai is currently advised against this visit. The reason is the threat to the safety of her flight due to "interference from certain countries" and the presence of the Chinese military in the region.