Taiwan, Taipei — Taiwan announced on Thursday that a Chinese flotilla under the command of the Shandong aircraft carrier had crossed the Bashi Channel, the strait dividing the island from the Philippines, and entered the Pacific Ocean.
Beijing, which claims the island as its own and has threatened to use force to annex it eventually, has increased its political and military pressure on Democratic Taiwan in recent years.
The Chinese military has been conducting large-scale wargame drills across Taiwan’s waterways over the past year, and the Ministry of National Defense in Taipei has documented almost daily incursions by warplanes.
China’s “Shandong Carrier Strike Group crossed the Bashi Channel today and entered the Western Pacific,” according to a ministry statement on Thursday.
According to the statement, Taiwan’s military has “monitored the situation and tasked appropriate forces to respond”.
The Taiwan Strait is a 180-kilometer (110-mile) waterway dividing the island from China. The ministry stated earlier in the day that it had seen 15 Chinese airplanes cross the median line that divides the strait between 6:00 am and 12:00 pm (2200 GMT Wednesday to 0400 GMT Thursday).
An announcement stated that “the aircraft… conducted joint combat patrol with (People’s Liberation Army Navy) vessels.”
Earlier this month, Taiwan’s defense minister claimed that China was increasing the number of warplanes flying over the island as part of “military intimidation” tactics.
In September, the island saw a “recent high” of nine navy ships and 103 Chinese jets.
China’s “military harassment” had been denounced by the ministry, which warned that it may “lead to a sharp escalation in tension and worsen regional security”.
