Taiwan detects 50 Chinese military aircraft around island

FILE PHOTO: A Taiwan national flag flutters near the Taipei 101 building at the National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, May 7, 2023. (Associated Press Photo/Chiang Ying-ying, File)

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan detected 50 Chinese military aircraft around the island, the defense ministry said Friday, days after a British naval vessel transited through the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

China insists that democratic, self-ruled Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring the island under its control.

Beijing has ramped up the deployment of fighter jets and naval vessels around Taiwan in recent years to press its claim of sovereignty, which Taipei rejects.

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Taiwan also accuses China of using espionage, cyberattacks, and disinformation to weaken its defenses.

Along with the 50 aircraft, six Chinese naval vessels were also detected in the 24 hours to 6:00 am (2200 GMT Thursday), the defence ministry said.

The latest incursion came after British Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Spey sailed through the Taiwan Strait on June 18, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said Thursday.

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The United States and other countries view the 180-kilometer (112-mile) Taiwan Strait as international waters that should be open to all vessels.

The last time a British Navy ship transited the Taiwan Strait was in 2021, when the HMS Richmond, a frigate deployed with Britain’s aircraft carrier strike group, sailed through from Japan to Vietnam.

China strongly condemned Britain at the time and deployed its military to follow the vessel.

In March, Taiwan detected 59 Chinese aircraft around the island, the highest tally since a record in October and days after Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te called China a “foreign hostile force.”