Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday morning that it had detected 53 Chinese military aircraft and 19 navy and coast guard vessels operating around the island over the past 24 hours, as the democratic island remained on alert amid speculation that Beijing has launched another round of war games.
The aircraft tally was the highest reported for a single day since China’s military last held massive drills around Taiwan in October.
Taipei said Tuesday that Beijing has deployed the largest number of naval ships to regional waters around the island since the mid-1990s, with media reports citing senior Taiwanese security officials as saying close to 90 Chinese Navy and coast guard ships had been detected in a broader stretch of waters along the so-called first island chain, which links Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines.
