China Conducts Large-Scale Military Drills with 57 Military Aircraft in Taiwan Strait

US Aegis Ship Conducts Counter-Drill in Taiwan Strait
57 Military Aircraft Detected, 28 Cross Midline

Flight scene of J-16 fighter jet belonging to the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Photo by AP

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Military tensions are escalating as China, opposing the passage of a U.S. Aegis destroyer through the Taiwan Strait, has launched a counter-operation deploying 57 military aircraft.

On the 9th, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense announced that within 24 hours until 6 a.m. that day, a total of 57 military aircraft including J-16, J-11, SU-30 fighters, and H-6 bombers flew around Taiwan. Among them, 28 aircraft including the Chinese drone BZK-005, J-11 fighters, and KJ-500 early warning aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or violated the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). Four Chinese naval vessels also maneuvered around the Taiwan Strait during the same period.

This military response by China is interpreted as a countermeasure to the passage of the U.S. Aegis destroyer USS Chung-Hoon through the Taiwan Strait for the first time in the new year on the 5th.

Previously, immediately after the Aegis destroyer maneuver on the 5th, the Chinese military issued a statement saying, "China is prepared to respond to all threats and provocations and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and territory," expressing opposition to the U.S. Navy.

Regarding this exercise, the Chinese military claimed it was "to test joint combat capabilities and to firmly respond to provocative actions by external forces and Taiwan independence separatist forces."

China's state-run Global Times also reported on the same day that "the number of Chinese military aircraft entering Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone increased dramatically from 380 in 2020, 960 in 2021, to 1,727 last year," pointing out that "this was a result of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August last year." It added, "Kevin McCarthy, who became the new House Speaker, must understand the meaning of this signal sent by the Chinese military."

Earlier, on the 7th, Kevin McCarthy, elected as the 118th U.S. House Speaker, is known as a prominent hardliner on China, and in his first statement after election declared, "We will win the competition with China," which has been interpreted as a warning signal from the Chinese military.

The median line of the Taiwan Strait was unilaterally declared in 1955 by U.S. Air Force General Benjamin Davis. The U.S. has pressured both the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) to tacitly agree not to cross this line.