By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-03-18 08:11:43 | Updated at 2025-03-18 20:13:16
12 hours ago
Taiwan’s military has begun five days of combat-readiness drills in response to pressure from Beijing and what Taipei calls grey-zone warfare tactics.
The exercises started on Monday, coinciding with the People’s Liberation Army sending 68 warplanes along with navy vessels to carry out combat patrols near Taiwan – one of the biggest PLA operations targeting the island in recent months, the Taiwanese defence ministry said.
The ministry said in a statement that it had detected 59 sorties by PLA aircraft and nine warships operating around Taiwan in the 24 hours to 6am on Tuesday.
“Forty-three of those sorties crossed the median line [unofficial boundary] of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defence identification zone,” the ministry said.
Taiwan scrambled fighter jets, deployed navy ships and activated its coastal missile defence systems in response.
The ministry also released photos showing Taiwanese troops monitoring PLA naval activities near the island.
