China considers that this island, governed autonomously, is part of its territory and says it is ready to reconquer it by force if necessary.
:quality(50)/2023/07/06/64a68815cd1a7_placeholder-36b69ec8.png)
Published
Reading time: 1 min
:quality(50)/2024/06/22/000-34tm3vl-66769a45e9526045962320.jpg)
Tension remains palpable in the South China Sea. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday June 22 that it had detected 41 Chinese military aircraft around the island. Among them, “32 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait”he said in a press release, in reference to the line which bisects this 180 kilometer wide strait between the autonomous island and mainland China, which says it is ready to reconquer this territory by force if necessary. coveted by Beijing.
Seven Chinese ships were also detected around Taiwan in the previous 24 hours, continued the ministry, which claims to have “monitored the situation and responded accordingly.”
The Chinese incursion into Taiwan’s environs comes after China released judicial guidelines on Friday regarding criminal sanctions against supporters. “irreducible” of Taiwan’s independence. According to Chinese state media, the death penalty can be imposed for cases “particularly serious” to “leaders” suspected secessionists, because they “cause particularly serious harm to the State and the people.”
Other leading independence activists will now risk receiving prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life, according to the text released by New China.
Taipei immediately reacted, ensuring that Beijing “has no legal authority over Taiwan” and that these directives do not in fact “no binding nature for our people”.“The Chinese authorities’ actions will only provoke confrontation between people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait… and will not improve relations”the Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement.
