Taiwan: 22 Chinese planes and drones identified, 12 crossed the median line

Taiwan’s air defenses identified 22 Chinese planes and drones in less than three hours, 12 of which crossed the median line of the Strait. Taipei’s Ministry of Defense announced this in a statement this morning, adding that the aircraft joined a group of military ships on joint patrol.

Sorties that arrive a few hours after the conclusion of the US Secretary of State’s visit to China, Anthony Blinken, than yesterday – in his meetings with President Xi Jinping and with the Foreign Minister Wang Yi – reiterated “the crucial importance” of maintaining peace and stability in the Strait. It could also be a signal in view of the inauguration of the elected president of Taiwan on May 20th, Lai Ching-te, considered a dangerous separatist by Beijing.

The middle line of the Strait has long been considered the de facto border between China and Taiwan, which Beijing considers to be its own province and which however has been de facto autonomous since 1949. Chinese air and naval assets have begun to cross it with ever greater insistence after the crisis of August 2022, provoked by the visit to Taipei of the then Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.

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