China's Military Calls Taiwan Raising Tensions For Electoral Profits Ahead Of Elections

JAKARTA - China's Ministry of Defense accused the Taiwanese government on Thursday of deliberately "enhancing" military threats from China, for electoral gain ahead of the elections to be held on the island in the next two weeks.

Taiwan will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on January 13, as tensions with China escalated in the past four years.

Ahead of the elections, Taiwan has reported Chinese fighter jets and warships around the island, as well as balloons across the sensitive Taiwan Strait, although the military said it was most likely done for weather monitoring purposes.

Speaking at a monthly press conference in Beijing, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said the Taiwanese government was to blame for the tension.

"The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities deliberately stepped up the so-called military threat from the mainland' and exaggerated tensions," Wu said, referring to the ruling party in Taiwan.

"This is entirely to seek election advantage," he said, accusing Taiwan of using "usual election rules to trigger confrontation and manipulate elections".

Shortly after Wu spoke, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense reported further Chinese military activity in the strait, saying it had detected 12 military aircraft crossing the strait's midline or flying nearby, on Thursday afternoon.

It said the aircraft, including J-11 and Su-30 fighters, entered the airspace north, central and southwest of Taiwan, and "worked closely with ships to patrol combat readiness together".

The ministry said Chinese warplanes regularly crossed the midline, which was previously an unofficial barrier between the two sides.

Wu herself in her statement reiterated that the Bamboo Curtain Country did not recognize the median line.

"Taiwan is part of China. There is absolutely no middle line," said Wu.

Separately, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said this week it had not seen any signs of China's military activity on a large scale ahead of the election but was still watching China.