(Taipei) Taiwan said Thursday that China had flown 68 military aircraft and deployed 10 warships near its shores within hours.
“68 People’s Liberation Army aircraft and 10 Chinese navy ships were detected” between Wednesday and Thursday morning around Taiwan, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The day before, Taipei said it had detected 35 military planes around the island in a few hours, some heading towards the western Pacific to join the Chinese aircraft carrier Shanghai as part of “joint maritime and air training”.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry has noted an increase in Chinese maritime and air incursions in recent days.
In April, Beijing conducted military exercises simulating an encirclement of the island, after a meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and the Speaker of the American House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy in California.
Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion by Beijing, which considers the autonomous island as part of its territory to be reconquered by force if necessary.