New incursion by Beijing, Taiwan detected more than 50 Chinese fighter planes and ships inside its defense zone

The Taiwan Ministry of Defense denounced this Monday that he detected more than fifty combat aircraft and four Chinese Army ships near the island, while at least 28 of them reportedly entered the Taiwanese air defense identification zone.

Following these exercises, the first of this caliber recorded this year, the Army of Taiwan sent planes, Navy ships and ground-based missile systems “to respond to these activities,” says the ministerial portfolio.

These movements have occurred after the Chinese authorities denounced the arrival on Monday of a group of German politicians to the island, a trip in which they will meet with the president, Tsai Ing Wen, and other senior government officials.

This is the first German delegation to visit Taiwan this year and the third, from Berlin, in the last three months, as reported by the island’s Foreign Ministry.

The escalation of tensions in the region occurred with the trip of the then president of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosiin August of last year.

The Chinese military aircraft raids to taiwan air defense zone almost doubled in 2022with an uptick in the use of bombers and fighters as Beijing intensifies its threats against the island.

Self-governing Taiwan lives under the threat of an invasion from China, whose government claims the island is part of its territory and has vowed to take it back.

Relations between the two sides have been strained under Chinese President Xi Jinping and brutally deteriorated in 2022.

China sent 1,727 planes to the Taiwanese Air Identification Zone (ADIZ) in 2022, according to an AFP database based on daily updates released by the Taipei Defense Ministry.

The amount It far exceeds the 960 raids of 2021 and the 380 of 2020.

The flights of fighter planes passed from 538 in 2021 to 1,241 last yearwhile the incursion of H6 bomberswith nuclear capacitypassed from 60 to 101.

Last year there was also the first drone raidwith 71 reported by the Taiwanese military after Pelosi’s visit.

Military analysts say China has used the raids to probe the Taiwanese defensedepleting his aging air force and expressing his annoyance at Western support for Taipei.

“They want to show their determination, their will and put pressure on the United States: don’t get too close to the red lines, don’t cross the red lines,” Lee Hsi-min, a former Taiwanese joint chief of staff chief, told AFP.

(With information from Europa Press)

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