Taiwan’s defence ministry has called on China to stop its ”military harassment” of the self-ruled island after detecting more than 100 Chinese military aircraft in the latest of a series of military manoeuvres designed to assert Beijing’s claim to sovereignty.
The ministry said that since Sunday, it has spotted 103 Chinese military aircraft, including fighter jets, over the sea, a number it called a “recent high“. It also said it detected nine navy ships.
Its map of Chinese activities over the past 24 hours showed 40 of the planes crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which had served as an unofficial barrier between the two sides until China began regularly crossing it a year ago.
Other aircraft flew south of Taiwan through the Bashi Channel, which separates the island from the Philippines.
Beijing claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its goal.
China’s activities over the past day posed “serious challenges” to security in the strait and regionally, the ministry said in an accompanying statement.
Post from www.aljazeera.com