Taiwan Monitors China's Military Activities That Are Considered A Stability Threat

UNSPLASH/Lisanto ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Taiwan is closely observing China's military, which they say is an increasing threat in the region.

A number of Chinese warplanes passed near the island to join the training with China's Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific.

This Chinese military exercise coincided with the summit of NATO in Washington, where the communique draft said China had become a determining factor in Russia's war efforts in Ukraine and Beijing continued to pose systemic challenges to Europe and security.

Shandong crossed near the Philippines on his way to training in the Pacific, Taiwan's defense minister said on Wednesday.

In a daily update on China's military activities over the past 24 hours, released on Thursday, July 11, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said it had detected 66 Chinese military aircraft around the island.

Of these, 39 of them crossed south and southeast of Taiwan, the ministry said. On Wednesday, the ministry said it had detected 36 aircraft bound for the Western Pacific to conduct exercises in Shandong.

Taiwan's Ministry of Defense released two images, a blurry black-and-white image of China's J-16 fighter and a color image of the nuclear-capable H-6 bomber, which it said were taken recently.

The military has a detailed understanding of activities in the sea and waters around the Taiwan Strait, including Chinese Communist planes and ships, said ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang.

Taiwanese troops have tracked two Chinese warplanes photographed, he said.

China's Ministry of Defense has not responded to a request for comment on Shandong's activities.

Speaking to military officers in Taipei, President Lai Ching-te said he would continue to strengthen the island's defense.

China's Communist threat to regional stability continues to increase, and the intrusion of the gray zone into the Taiwan Strait and its surroundings also increases day by day, which is a common challenge to global democracy, he said.