Taipei : On Tuesday Taiwan reported Chinese forces conducting another "combat patrol" near the island, which included sending aircraft across the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait, as tensions escalate a week before the inauguration of a new Taiwanese president. In the last four years, China's military activities around democratic Taiwan have significantly increased.
Beijing considers the island its own territory, a stance vehemently rejected by Taipei's government. On Monday, Taiwan's incoming president, Lai Ching-te, will assume office after winning the election in January. Beijing has labeled Lai as a "dangerous separatist" and has consistently turned down offers for dialogue. During a pre-recorded message at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, Lai expressed his commitment to maintaining the current state of affairs across the strait.
He stated his openness to engaging in dialogue with China based on mutual respect, mutual benefits, and dignity, without any preconditions. Taiwan's defense ministry reported the sighting of 23 Chinese military aircraft, including advanced Su-30 fighters, conducting "joint combat readiness patrols" with warships starting at 5 pm (0900 GMT).
Fifteen of these aircraft crossed the median line of the strait or flew into airspace near Taiwan's north, center, and southwest. The median line, once an unofficial boundary between the two sides, is now regularly breached by Chinese military aircraft, despite China's denial of its existence. This marks the third instance in a month where Taiwan has reported a Chinese "Joint combat readiness patrol."
In a separate incident, Taiwan's coast guard revealed that Chinese coast guard vessels patrolled waters near the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands on Tuesday. Taiwan dispatched six patrol ships to deter five Chinese boats, the fifth such mission around Kinmen this month. The coast guard urged China to show restraint and cease such "irrational" actions, vowing to maintain a non-provocative stance, strengthen law enforcement measures, and deter China's activities that jeopardize navigational safety.
Chinese state media characterizes the coast guard patrols around Kinmen as routine law enforcement inspections to assist fishermen, while Taiwan perceives them as intimidation tactics. These patrols commenced in February after a dispute involving the death of two Chinese nationals who attempted to evade Taiwan's coast guard by entering restricted Kinmen waters.