JAKARTA - Taiwan's Ministry of Defense reported on Thursday that Chinese warplanes and warships had carried out the first "battle patrols" around the island this year.
The report came out after Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te again expressed his willingness to speak with Beijing about relations between the two countries.
Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said it had detected 22 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighter jets, which carried out "coup combat readiness patrols" around Taiwan along with Chinese warships on Thursday morning.
As Chinese aircraft flew in the airspace north, west, southwest, and east of Taiwan, Taiwanese troops were sent on guard.
On Wednesday, China's Eastern Theater Command, whose territory includes Taiwan, released a New Year's video on social media showing warships and warplanes, and what appears to be a Chinese fighter jet flying near a P-8 Poseidon patrol plane that is sometimes sent by the US through the Taiwan Strait.
The video, accompanied by the song "Chinese" by Hong Kong pop star Andy Lau, also includes a picture of Chinese students visiting Taiwan late last year at the invitation of former President Ma Ying-jeou.
Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said on Thursday the video was another Chinese psychological war.
"The People's Liberation Army is showing its intimidation of Taiwan," he said.
China's Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It is known, the Bamboo Curtain Country, which views democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, sends its military into the sky and waters near the island almost daily, and holds what Taiwan calls "coup combat readiness patrols" several times a month.
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Previously, President Lai, at a press conference on New Year's Day, reiterated his desire to exchange with China. He has repeatedly called for negotiations, but was rejected.
Beijing, which held two rounds of war games around Taiwan last year, called it "separatist".
It is known that President Lai and his government say only the Taiwanese can decide their future.
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