China sent a large contingent of 57 warplanes — including heavy bombers and advanced fighter jets — around Taiwan in the 24 hours through Monday morning, Taipei announced, in what Beijing called its first joint military drills around the island this year.
The drills by China’s People’s Liberation Army around democratic Taiwan came just days after new U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was sworn into office. McCarthy, an avowed China hawk, has pledged to visit Taiwan like his predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, a move sure to further anger Beijing.
The latest exercises — one of the largest to date — also saw 28 of the Chinese warplanes enter Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, the Defense Ministry in Taipei said. A map provided by the ministry showed that several of the aircraft had also crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the unofficial buffer between the two sides, while two H-6 bombers, which are capable of carrying nuclear bombs, flew south of the island with escorting fighter jets.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.