China sends fighter jets, drones, and ships to Taiwan Strait
December 26 is Chairman Mao’s birthday. The People’s Liberation Army that he once led celebrated with a massive military exercise in the skies and seas around Taiwan.
Seven ships and 71 Chinese military aircraft including fighter jets and drones were “detected around Taiwan from 6 a.m. Sunday to 6 a.m. Monday…marking the most within a 24-hour span so far this year,” according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND).
The MND said that 47 aircraft were spotted either crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait or entering Taiwan’s southwestern air defense identification zone. The median line served as an unofficial buffer between the PLA and the Taiwanese Armed Forces, but since the visit of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in August this year, Beijing has used incursions over the line to signal its displeasure.
The PLA sorties follow the December 23 signing by U.S. President Joe Biden of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — the American defense plan and budget for the coming year — that includes provisions to authorize $2 billion in loans to Taiwan to buy U.S.-made weapons, and other types of support for the Taiwanese military.
Beijing strongly objected to the NDAA, calling it a “serious political provocation against China.”
