TAIPEI, Taiwan — Between late Thursday and early Friday, China dispatched a significant force of 74 warplanes towards Taiwan, as reported by Taiwan’s Defense Ministry. Among these, 61 aircraft crossed the central line of the Taiwan Strait, a line widely recognized as an informal boundary dividing the two sides. The large-scale sortie comes amidst ongoing regional tensions.
The motivations behind this massive deployment of aircraft remain unclear, but Taiwan’s Defense Ministry noted that the planes were dispatched in two separate waves. China, which views Taiwan as its territory, uses such military maneuvers to underscore its capability and readiness to potentially encircle or invade the island, which is governed independently. These actions also serve to pressure the Taiwanese population and test the resilience of its military defenses.
Simultaneously, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged the passage of the British Royal Navy’s off-shore patrol vessel, HMS Spey, through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday. The ministry viewed this transit as a reaffirmation of the Strait’s status as international waters. It expressed approval for such passages by the UK and other nations that support maintaining peace and promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The British diplomatic mission in Taipei issued a statement confirming that the Spey navigated the Taiwan Strait in adherence to international maritime law, specifically the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It emphasized the Royal Navy’s commitment to international law and the principles of Freedom of Navigation.
China, however, condemned the British Ship’s passage. The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command reported that it had mobilized troops to oversee and address the situation. The Chinese military criticized the transit as a deliberate attempt to destabilize the region and disrupt peace.
Though the Taiwan Strait is recognized as international waters, China remains opposed to foreign military activity in the area. It is uncertain if the influx of Chinese aircraft on Thursday and Friday was a direct response to the British naval activity.
The Chinese aerial operation included a cohort of six naval ships, providing a diverse array of support from drones to fighter jets and early-warning aircraft. In reply, Taiwan mobilized its own defensive assets, including ships, fighter jets, and land-based missile systems, to monitor and respond to the situation.