Chinese warplanes enter Taiwans defense zone and Taipei responds

Chinese warplanes enter Taiwan’s defense zone and Taipei responds

At least 16 Chinese warplanes entered Taiwan’s air defense zone on Tuesday, a week after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit.

Since Thursday, Beijing has been conducting military maneuvers, the largest ever conducted in the outskirts of Taiwan, in response to Pelosi’s trip, which the Chinese government has described as a provocation. China considers the island part of its territory.

According to the Taiwan Defense Ministry, the plane crossed the Taiwan Strait, which separates the two countries’ airspace.

1 of 1 of the Taiwanese Army fires 155inch projectiles during a livearms military exercise in Pingtung County — Photo: Sam Yeh / AFP Photo

Taiwanese Army fires 155inch projectiles during a live ammunition military exercise in Pingtung County — Photo: Sam Yeh / AFP Photo

In response, the Taiwanese government also began conducting live ammunition military drills Tuesday in response to Beijing, which is also using live ammunition and has even fired missiles into the Taiwan Sea.

The Taiwanese army said its drills began in southern Pingtung County, a slightly more distant part of China, with flares and artillery firing.

In addition to the planes, about 20 Chinese and Taiwanese naval boats are positioned near the centerline of the Taiwan Strait, underscoring the escalation of tensions in the region.

  • Finally, what is Taiwan and why is the island of strategic importance to world powers?

The dispute between China and the Taiwanese government over the island has been going on for decades, since the anticommunist opposition took refuge there.

The island of Taiwan was taken over by China from Japan in 1945 after World War II. But soon after, China entered the civil war, in which communist and nationalist forces clashed. The communists, led by Mao Tsetung, won the conflict and with it the nationalists fled to Taiwan, took the island and proclaimed the Nationalist Republic of China there.

Nationalists claimed to be China’s legitimate governmentinexile. Beijing, which has since been run by the Communist Party, claims Taiwan remains part of its territory and will retake it by force if necessary.

In recent decades, however, both sides have “parked” their concerns: neither Beijing has attempted to invade the island, nor has Taipei pushed ahead with its plans for independence.

But that strategy has changed in recent years. Current Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is seeking reelection, has again hardened his antiTaiwan speech and last year resumed military exercises across the island. The stance coincided with the rise to power of Democrat Joe Biden in the United States, who has consistently advocated Taiwan independence, an issue his predecessor Donald Trump barely touched on.

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