Taipei [Taiwan], February 18 : Taiwan recorded 8 sorties of People's Liberation Army aircraft, 9 naval vessels and one official ship operating near its territory till 6 am (local time) on Tuesday, according to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND).
As per the Taiwan Defence Ministry, four out of the eight sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ.
"8 sorties of PLA aircraft, 9 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 4 out of 8 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly," Taiwan's MND stated in a post on X.
}}}}8 sorties of PLA aircraft, 9 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 4 out of 8 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly. pic.twitter.com/A5rtwA2kjt— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) February 18, 2025
Earlier on Monday, Taiwan reported heightened Chinese military activity with 41 aircraft, 9 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship recorded operating around the island. In a post on X, the MND noted that these were detected up until 6 AM (UTC+8).
MND said that out of the 41 aircraft, 28 crossed the median line and entered into Taiwan's Taiwan's northern, central and southwestern ADIZ.
Meanwhile, following the recent transit of two US ships through the Taiwan Strait, Beijing reiterated its position on Taiwan, emphasised that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory and stated that it "opposes any country challenging or threatening China's sovereignty and security under the pretext of freedom of navigation."
During a regular press conference on Wednesday, Guo Jiakun, Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said, "Let me stress that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. The Taiwan question has nothing to do with freedom of navigation but bears on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
He added, "China firmly opposes any country challenging or threatening China's sovereignty and security under the pretext of freedom of navigation.
In recent weeks, China has visibly increased its capacity to conduct amphibious assaults on Taiwan's beaches with new naval equipment. This includes the formal launch of a unique advanced landing helicopter assault (LHA) vessel and the mass production of floating bridge docks to aid ship unloading during beach landings.
The Taiwan-China conflict remained a longstanding geopolitical issue centred on Taiwan's sovereignty. While Taiwan functioned as a de facto independent state with its own government, military, and economy, Beijing considered it a breakaway province under the "One China" policy.
Since the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949), when the Republic of China's government retreated to Taiwan, China had used diplomatic, economic, and military measures to pressure Taiwan, which continued to assert its independence with strong domestic support.
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