TAIPEI, May 26 (Reuters) - Taiwan has deployed ships and fighter jets to keep an eye on the second Chinese “joint combat readiness patrol” conducted this week near the island. A senior security official in Taiwan stated...
TAIPEI, May 26 (Reuters) - Taiwan has deployed ships and fighter jets to keep an eye on the second Chinese “joint combat readiness patrol” conducted this week near the island. A senior security official in Taiwan stated that this action demonstrates that China is the main cause of instability in the region.
China has increased its military activities around Taiwan, putting the island on high alert for any further actions after President Xi Jinping had a discussion about Taiwan with U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing earlier this month.
Beijing views Taiwan, which is democratically governed, as a part of its territory, and regularly sends warships and aircraft near the island. The government in Taipei firmly rejects these sovereignty claims from Beijing.
On late Monday, Taiwan's defense ministry announced it had detected 21 Chinese aircraft in the area, including J-16 fighters and drones, conducting a "joint combat readiness patrol" along with warships.
The defense ministry of China has not yet responded to requests for comments on this situation.
Taiwan's defense ministry shared three images captured by its forces: one from an F-16 jet showing two Chinese fighters pursuing a Y-20 aerial refueler, another showing the Chinese warship Yinchuan, and a third of a Taiwanese sailor observing the same ship with binoculars.
In a post on X regarding the patrol and the presence of the Liaoning carrier group, Secretary-General of Taiwan’s National Security Council Joseph Wu stated that China’s actions are "unprovoked." He emphasized that the People's Republic of China is the primary cause of instability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Wu also reported that on Saturday, China had sent over 100 ships throughout the first island chain, which stretches from Japan down to Taiwan and into the Philippines. According to a separate Taiwan official, these ships remain in the area.
Pan Chun-kuang from Taiwan's intelligence department mentioned that Taiwan is also monitoring the movements of China’s aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, which is operating in the Western Pacific.
This was not the first "readiness patrol"; a similar operation took place last Tuesday, just a day before Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te celebrated his second anniversary in office. China labels Lai a "separatist" and has declined multiple offers from him for discussions.
Su Tzu-yun, a director at Taiwan's leading military think tank, the Institute for National Defence and Security Research, noted that Chinese warships armed with cruise missiles are operating as close as 24 nautical miles from Taiwan's coast during these "combat" patrols.
This proximity gives Taiwan's air defense forces less time to respond, especially since ship-launched, sea-skimming missiles are often harder to detect and can reach targets in as little as three minutes after launch.
“If China were to execute a surprise missile attack using these tactics, it could temporarily cripple Taiwan,” Su added.
During the weekend, Taiwan reported that its coast guard had a confrontation with a Chinese coast guard vessel near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands, which are strategically significant at the northern edge of the South China Sea.