Taipei reports the passage of a Chinese aircraft carrier near its waters

Taiwan on high alert. According to the armed forces of this island state, which has feared an invasion from China for many years, three warships flying the Chinese flag crossed the Taiwan Strait on Saturday. If these maneuvers are usual in the area, the presence of the aircraft carrier shandong is much less.

According to the Taiwanese Defense Ministry, thethe ships headed “west of the center line in a northerly direction”he added, in reference to this invisible border drawn unilaterally by the United States during the Cold War – but which Beijing refuses to recognize.

Repeated military incursions

Taiwanese armed forces “monitored the situation and tasked (civilian air patrol) aircraft, naval vessels and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities”said the island’s ministry.

In Beijing’s eyes, Taiwan is a province it has yet to successfully reunify with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. Relations between the two governments are at their lowest since the coming to power of Xi Jinping more than 10 years ago. And they have further deteriorated in recent years as China increases military incursions around the island.

In the past 48 hours alone, the Taiwanese military has spotted 33 military aircraft and 10 Chinese ships around its territory, as reported by the newspaper. taiwan news on his site (in English).