Praises The Patriotism Of Fighter Jet Pilots During China's Exercise, Taiwan President: The World Sees Our Determination To Protect The Nation

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. (Wikimedia Commons/)

JAKARTA - Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday thanked the fighter pilots who fought against China's air force during exercises around the island, pledging to continue to strengthen the country's armed forces.

China started exercises, including simulations of precision attacks with bombers and missile troops, on April 8 after President Tsai returned from Los Angeles, where he met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who angered Beijing.

China views democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, a claim the government in Taipei has strongly rejected, and has routinely criticized high-level meetings between Taiwanese leaders and officials and foreigners.

In the city of Taichung, central Taiwan, President Tsai met with fighter pilot jets often stationed at the forefront of the Magong airbase in the Taiwan Strait, thanked them for their hard work, and remained in their position around the clock.

"I want to tell everyone: as long as we are united, we can convince the people of the country and let the world see our determination to protect the nation," he said in a video clip provided by the presidential office.

President Tsai noted that Taiwan-made Indiginous Defense Fighters (IDF) fighter jets, which began operating in 1997, have been upgraded to a more advanced version.

"In the future, we will continue to improve software and hardware facilities and strengthen personnel training," said President Tsai.

President Tsai's office showed a picture of him talking to a pilot wearing a flight uniform and briefed in front of an IDF parked in the hangar.

It is known that China's three-day drills officially ended on Monday, but Taiwan has reported continued activity on a reduced scale.

On Friday morning, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said it had not seen a single Chinese military plane cross the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait in the past 24 hours.

In a routine morning report on China's military activity in the previous 24-hour period, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said it had seen four Chinese military aircraft and eight Chinese warships around Taiwan.

But in China's accompanying activity map, it does not show Chinese warplanes crossing the Taiwan Strait median line, an unofficial limit between the two countries. However, China said it did not recognize the median line.

The ministry's map shows an Y-8 Chinese anti-submarine aircraft flying between Taiwan's southwest coast and Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands at the top of the South China Sea.

The Taiwanese government says that despite wanting peace and holding talks with China, it will not be subject to pressure, and emphasizes it has the right to connect with the world.