A large group of Chinese warplanes seventy-one strong was found in the airspace of Taiwan on Christmas, carrying out a series of military exercises, as explained by the Defense Ministry of Taiwan.
According to a representative of the People’s Liberation Army, China was taking part in a “strike drill” as a response to recent “provocations” and “collusion” that has taken place between the United States and Taiwan.
“71 PLA aircraft and 7 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected in our surrounding region by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today,” explained a tweet from the Taiwan Defense Ministry. “R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities.”
71 PLA aircraft and 7 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected in our surrounding region by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities. pic.twitter.com/DagRhnN69F
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. ???????? (@MoNDefense) December 26, 2022
Of the group of 71 warplanes, 60 of them were classified as fighter jets, of which six advanced SU-30 jets took part, explained AFP.
The Taiwan Defense Ministry also explained that a total of 47 of the detected planes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which is the body of water that separates Taiwan from the rest of continental Asia, which includes mainland China. Those planes reportedly cross into Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone, (ADIZ), the airspace owned by Taiwan plus that extra area in which foreign planes are expected to announce and identify themselves. Taiwan’s ADIZ mixes with the edge of China’s and includes a section of mainland China itself.
47 of the detected aircraft (J-11*12, SU-30*6, CH-4 UCAV RECCE*1, J-10*6, J-16*18, Y-8 EW*1, Y-8 ASW*1, KJ-500*1, WZ-7 UAV RECCE*1) had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ, flight paths as illustrated.
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. ???????? (@MoNDefense) December 26, 2022
The strategic importance of the country of Taiwan is massive worldwide. The small nation currently is responsible for making 65% of the semiconductors for the entire world and close to 90% of the advanced microchips.
Back in November, Xi Jinping, the current President of Communist China, openly declared that China would put a heavy focus on making preparations for war, explained a report from Express. The communist leader highlighted a series of security concerns, making the claim that it was “increasingly unstable and uncertain.”
“For years, Xi has been ratcheting up his rhetoric around the use of military force to reunify Taiwan with mainland China, and in response, the West has done very little,” explained the executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, Dr. Alan Mendoza, to the Daily Mail “Liberal Democracies must now take him at his word, and work collectively, using all means necessary to deter Xi from invading Taiwan.”
“As a priority, Western nations must begin the process of removing all Chinese influence from critical industries such as energy, water and nuclear power,” Mendoza stated. “Next, we must immediately start the process of decoupling China from many of our most relied upon supply chain networks and develop new ones with likeminded partner nations.”
