Taiwan’s defence ministry on Saturday said that Beijing’s 17 aircraft crossed Taiwan Strait median line. In addition to its regular military incursions into nearby waters and airspace, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said that China is conducting “cognitive warfare” by spreading misinformation.
During a visit to an air defence and missile battalion in the eastern country of Hualien, Tsai said “The situation around the Taiwan Strait continues to be tense, and the threat has never ceased.”
Following incidents in which Taiwanese troops based on islands just warned off the Chinese coast, Tsai also referenced China’s use of drones “to increase pressure on Taiwan’s military.”
Warning that China can make good on its threat to use force to take control of the island, experts said Beijing has made substantial inroads within Taiwanese mass media.
Also see | Why US lawmakers’ Taiwan trips keep riling China
Simulating ground warfare against an invading enemy aided by Apache attack helicopters, Taiwan on Tuesday also launched military exercises on the Hengchun Peninsula in the far south of the island.
Tsai has made strengthening the island’s defences a key feature of her second and last four-year term in office alongside promoting Taiwan’s high-tech economy.
The US State Department last week announced a $1.09 billion sale for Harpoon air-to-sea missiles to Taiwan as Beijing continues its military activities near the island.
Opposing a recent visit by US lawmakers to Taiwan, China’s foreign ministry accused Washington of “making trouble.”
After US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei, China fired missiles into the Taiwan Strait and over the island into the Pacific.
(With inputs from agencies)
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