Taiwan’s Defense Ministry announced on Saturday that Beijing had dispatched 33 fighter jets and six naval vessels in its direction, to which Taiwan has retaliated by committing its own troops.
Since January 13, when Taiwan held its democratic presidential and parliamentary elections, the number of warplane deployments every day has reached a record high.
Beijing’s stepped-up military pressure came on Friday, the last day of a three-day visit to Taiwan by two US congressmen. Since William Lai Ching-te was elected as the next president of Taiwan, Ami Bera and Mario Diaz-Balart were the first official delegation from the United States to arrive.
13 of the 33 Chinese fighter jets crossed the unofficial median line in the Taiwan Strait that separates Taiwan and China, the ministry said.
Moreover, the ministry reported that two Chinese balloons crossed the line and then disappeared while flying to the northern and southern parts of the island.
