00:00 Taiwan has said that China flew 68 military aircraft and sent 10 navy vessels into areas
00:08 around the self-ruled island in what appeared to be a second day of military training drills
00:13 led by the Shandong Aircraft Carrier.
00:16 On Thursday, Taiwan's defence ministry said that in the past 24 hours, it had detected
00:21 40 Chinese Air Force aircraft entering the island's air defence zone, mostly flying to
00:27 the south of Taiwan and into the Bashi Channel.
00:29 According to a map the ministry provided, at least four of the aircraft also crossed
00:34 the median line of the Taiwan Strait to the northwest of the island.
00:38 Beijing views Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to
00:42 achieve its goal.
00:44 It has stepped up military and political pressure on the democratic island in an attempt to
00:48 reinforce its claim of sovereignty.
00:51 In a statement referring to China's army and navy, Taiwan's defence ministry said that
00:55 68 PLA aircraft and 10 PLA vessels around Taiwan were detected by about 6 am local time
01:02 on Thursday.
01:03 The number was a dramatic jump from the previous day when Taipei said that it had detected
01:07 35 warplanes.
01:09 Taiwan's defence ministry said that some of those planes and warships were heading to
01:13 an unspecified area of the western Pacific to conduct joint sea and air training with
01:18 the Shandong Aircraft Carrier.
01:21 It said that the vessel, one of the two operational aircraft carriers in the Chinese fleet, was
01:26 about 60 nautical miles, which is equivalent to about 111 kilometres, southeast of the
01:32 island's southernmost point and heading into the western Pacific.
01:36 Japan also noted the presence of Chinese vessels heading towards the area through the Miapo
01:41 Strait.
01:43 China has not officially commented on any military exercises being conducted in the
01:47 area.
01:48 In recent months, the US and its allies have increased freedom of navigation crossings
01:52 of both the Taiwan Strait and the disputed South China to reinforce that both are international
01:59 waterways.
02:00 For its part, China has been increasing its military operations around Taiwan.
02:04 It condemned what it called collusion between alleged Taiwan independence forces and the
02:09 US.
02:09 Subscribe to One India channel and never miss an update.
02:19 [MUSIC PLAYING]
Comments