Taipei: Chinese military planes and ships surrounded Taiwan on Wednesday during a drill, with some of the aircraft crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the defense ministry said Thursday. In total, 35 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft and six warships were detected around the island during China's "joint combat readiness patrols," Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) reported.
According to Focus Taiwan, a flight map released by the ministry showed that 12 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, while 15 entered the northern, southwestern, and eastern parts of Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ). The 12 aircraft that crossed the median line included two drones, which flew along Taiwan's east coast before circling back, and one "support aircraft" that was flying off the island's southeastern shoreline.
Meanwhile, six PLA vessels were detected in waters near Taiwan in the 24-hour period starting at 6 a.m. Wednesday. The incursions took place between 12:03 p.m. and 9:57 p.m., as information released by the MND showed. Chieh Chung, a research fellow at the Association of Strategic Foresight, dismissed the notion that these incursions were linked to the presence of the Taiwan delegation at U.S. President Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20. He pointed out that the Taiwanese delegation received treatment similar to previous U.S. presidential inaugurations.
Chieh highlighted the seating arrangements for Taiwan's delegation members, which were in nearby locations rather than the Capitol Rotunda, where seats were reserved for U.S. tech and business leaders, senior politicians, and other world leaders. Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu led the delegation, joining other guests at the Capitol Visitor Center, Emancipation Hall, to watch the swearing-in on a large screen. Other members, including seven cross-party lawmakers, viewed a livestream in a VIP area of the Capital One Arena.
Chieh further elaborated that when China intends to send a political message through military activity, it typically includes some form of propaganda, which was absent on this occasion. He cited that the Joint Sword exercises by the PLA last year included online videos of Chinese fighter jets and warships, accompanied by official statements through state-controlled media. The absence of such propaganda suggests the drill was routine.
Lin Ying-yu, an assistant professor at Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, concurred with Chieh's assessment, stating that the drill was routine and not connected to the Taiwan delegation's U.S. visit. The PLA last conducted a similar scale exercise on January 14, when several aircraft crossed the median line during a joint combat readiness patrol. An ADIZ is a self-declared area in which a country claims the right to identify, locate, and control approaching foreign aircraft, though it is not part of its territorial airspace under international law.