China has long considered Taiwan to be a part of its territory despite the island’s claims of independence, making the recent flying of Chinese warplanes over a U.S.-drawn boundary in the Taiwan Strait all the more troubling.
Following recent elections on the island, President Joe Biden reiterated his position that the United States does not support an independent Taiwan, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
However, the United States remains close with the island nation, maintaining unofficial relations with its government. Tensions have been high between the United States and China in recent years, including encounters between Chinese military planes and U.S. aircraft, which have increased dramatically because of aggressive tactics on the part of Chinese pilots.
Early Thursday, the provocative actions increased significantly in the area near Taiwan, as reported by Bloomberg. Here’s the start of the story:
China sent a record number of warplanes across a US-drawn boundary in the Taiwan Strait — a move that comes as the new president of the archipelago mulls a trip that may include a stop in America.
Some 56 aircraft crossed the so-called median line as of early Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense in Taipei said on the X social media site. Taiwanese aircraft, naval vessels and missile systems were used “in response” to the flights by the People’s Liberation Army, the military added, without providing details on what that entailed.
The archipelago’s armed forces have “a close grasp of the dynamics of the sea and airspace surrounding the Taiwan Strait, including the actions of the PLA aircraft and ships,” ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang told reporters later in the day.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te was considering passing through the US while potentially visiting nations that have ties with the archipelago, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said Wednesday, according to the semi-official Central News Agency in Taipei. Details of the trip were still being planned, Lin added.