Taiwan reports 14 Chinese aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels near its shores

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) reported that 14 Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft and 6 People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels were detected around Taiwan as of 6 am local time (UTC+8) today.

Nine of these aircraft crossed the median line and entered the island nation's northern and southwestern Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

"14 PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 9 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern and southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly," said the MND reported.

Earlier on Saturday, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) reported that 11 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels were detected near the island until 6 am (UTC+8). Of these, nine aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the northern and south-western parts of Taiwan's Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).

The ministry also detected one Chinese balloon during this period.

In recent weeks, China had visibly increased its capacity to conduct amphibious assaults on Taiwan's beaches with new naval equipment. This included the formal launch of an advanced landing helicopter assault (LHA) vessel, unique in the world, and the mass production of floating bridge docks to aid ship unloading during beach landings.

The Taiwan-China conflict remained a longstanding geopolitical issue centred on Taiwan's sovereignty. While Taiwan functioned as a de facto independent state with its own government, military, and economy, Beijing considered it a breakaway province under the "One China" policy.

Since the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949), when the Republic of China government retreated to Taiwan, China had used diplomatic, economic, and military measures to pressure Taiwan, which continued to assert its independence with strong domestic support.