China dispatched 71 airplanes and seven ships toward Taiwan in a show of force 24 hours after Beijing blasted the billions in security support Congress authorized for the self-governing island in this month’s $858 billion military defense spending package.
Monday, Taiwan’s military said that 47 Chinese aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait’s median line, an unofficial border between the two nations, and entered Taipei’s air defense zone during this time period.
China, which considers Taiwan to be part of its territory, has intensified its military stance towards the island over the past few years, sending jets into its airspace and conducting military maneuvers in the neighboring waters.
“This is a firm response to the ongoing US-Taiwan escalation and provocation,” said Shi Yi, spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army.
The reference was to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2023, which was passed by Congress and signed by President Biden on Friday.
Over the next five years, the new law includes more than $10 billion in security support for Taiwan.
The foreign ministry of China stated that the assistance “blatantly interferes with China’s domestic affairs.”
“This seriously damages peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and sends a disastrous message to Taiwan independence separatist movements. Taiwan is China’s Taiwan. “External intervention in China’s domestic affairs will not be permitted,” the Chinese government stated in a statement.
” The United States must stop attempting to utilize Taiwan to control China, stop obscuring, distorting, and watering down the one-China principle, and stop advancing farther down the erroneous and perilous path,” the report stated.
In Taiwan, the office of President Tsai Ing-wen announced intentions to convene a national security meeting to strengthen the island’s civil defense infrastructure.
“The more preparations we undertake, the less likely reckless aggression attempts will be. Taiwan will grow stronger and safer the more united we are, said Tsai.
»China launches 71 aircraft and seven ships toward Taiwan in a single day«