China’s military activity intensifies near Taiwan, 2 PLA aircraft and 5 naval ships identified

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense (MND) said on Friday that it has detected the activities of 2 aircraft of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), 5 ships of PLA Navy (PLAN) and 3 official ships around its territory.

Sharing information on social media platform X, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Chinese military movements were tracked as of 6 a.m. (UTC+8). Taiwan’s armed forces monitored the situation and responded.

Even before this, China’s military activities were recorded in the beginning of the week. On Tuesday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry had said that 4 Chinese aircraft, 9 naval ships and 3 official ships were found active around Taiwan. Of these, 3 Chinese aircraft had entered Taiwan’s southwestern Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

China has been continuously reiterating its claim regarding Taiwan. Beijing says Taiwan is an integral part of China, while Taiwan operates independently with its own identity, government, military and economy.

The issue of China’s Taiwan claim is fraught with historical, political and legal disputes. This matter remains a subject of debate at the international level related to principles such as sovereignty, self-determination and non-intervention.