PLA keeps up air and sea pressure near Taiwan in wake of William Lai’s Double Tenth speech

Taipei’s defence ministry reports that in 24 hours to 6am Friday, the PLA sent at least 20 aircraft and 10 vessels to patrol near island

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In his first National Day speech since assuming office in May, Taiwan’s leader William Lai said the People’s Republic of China “has no right to represent Taiwan”. Photo: EPA-EFE

Enoch Wongin Hong KongandHayley Wongin Beijing

Published: 4:17pm, 11 Oct 2024Updated: 5:09pm, 11 Oct 2024

The People’s Liberation Army kept up its manoeuvres around Taiwan on Friday, a day after the island’s leader William Lai Ching-te delivered a speech that Beijing criticised as “provoking hostility”, although there were no reports of an uptick in the number of planes sent.

Taiwan’s defence ministry reported on Friday morning that in the 24 hours to 6am, the PLA sent at least 20 aircraft and 10 vessels to patrol the island’s northern, western and southwestern sides.

It said 13 of the aircraft crossed the median line – the unofficial midway boundary separating the self-ruled island from mainland China – in the Taiwan Strait or entered the island’s air defence identification zone in the southwest and southeast.

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Taiwan leader William Lai says Beijing has no authority over island in Double Tenth speech

Friday’s number was higher than the previous three-month average of 16 aircraft and six vessels, according to the South China Morning Post’s tally based on Taiwan’s reports.

But the number is well below the 43 PLA aircraft and 34 vessels reported on September 25 when a Japanese warship joined Australian and New Zealand warships to sail through the strait for the first time.

Friday’s manoeuvring by the PLA came a day after Lai’s Double Tenth speech, when he doubled down on his narrative that Taiwan is not subordinate to the mainland.

October 10 marks the start of the 1911 revolution that ended the Qing dynasty, followed by the founding of the Republic of China in 1912. The date is celebrated in Taiwan after Kuomintang lost the civil war and fled to the island in 1949.

During Thursday’s speech, Lai also said Beijing “has no authority” to represent Taiwan, which drew criticism from Beijing. Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Lai of “deliberately seeking to sever the historical connection”.