China has ended military exercises around Taiwan, which included training bomber airstrikes and the boarding of warships, Reuters reported. quoted by BTA.
At the same time, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense gave a summary of the number of aircraft that crossed the dividing line of the Taiwan Strait.
China's state military television announced late last night that the maneuvers had ended. An article in the daily newspaper of the People's Liberation Army of China reported that they lasted for two days - that day and yesterday, according to Reuters. Today, the Chinese Ministry of Defense did not respond to the agency's inquiry on the matter.
Beijing, which considers the democratically-governed island of Taiwan as its territory, held the exercises under the title "Sword of Unity 2024A" just three days after the inauguration of Taiwan's new president, William Lai, whom China describes as a "separatist".
China announced that the exercises were "punishment" for Lai, who in his presidential inauguration speech on Monday announced that "the two halves of the Taiwan Strait" are not subordinated. This statement of his was accepted by Beijing as the declaration of Taiwan as a separate country, notes Reuters.
Taiwan's Ministry of Defense announced today that 46 Chinese military aircraft entered its airspace over the Taiwan Strait yesterday
Warplanes have crossed the dividing line of the Taiwan Strait, the military department of the democratically-ruled island announced. Taipei intercepted a total of 62 Chinese warplanes and 27 warships during the exercise around the island.
The planes, which were modern Su-30 bombers and X-6 fighter jets, were flying over both the Taiwan Strait and the Bashi Strait, which separates Taiwan from the Philippines, the military ministry in Taipei said.
Yesterday, it released footage taken by Taiwanese warplanes of Chinese J-6 and X-16 fighter jets, but did not say where exactly the photos were taken. In the last four years, China has regularly conducted military exercises around Taiwan, Reuters recalls.