Taiwan monitoring PLA warplanes and ships after William Lai’s stopovers

Defence ministry says 47 aircraft were detected near the island in the 24 hours to 6am, along with 12 naval ships and nine official vessels

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A mainland Chinese J-16 fighter jet. Taiwan’s defence ministry says it is monitoring PLA activity near the island. Photo: AP

Published: 6:30pm, 10 Dec 2024

Taiwan’s military says it is monitoring whether the People’s Liberation Army is conducting a large-scale drill targeting the self-ruled island.

The defence ministry said it had detected 47 mainland Chinese warplanes near Taiwan in the 24 hours to 6am on Tuesday – the largest number since the PLA simulated a blockade of the island on October 14 in an exercise dubbed Joint Sword-2024B. The PLA sent 153 warplanes for that drill.

In the latest exercise, 12 aircraft were said to have entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone – far fewer than during the October drill when 111 warplanes crossed into it.

The ministry also said 12 PLA naval ships and nine official vessels were detected near Taiwan – the most since the October drill, when 14 warships and 12 official vessels were reported.

Taiwanese forces have been bracing for the PLA to hold war games similar to the October drill after leader William Lai Ching-te made stopovers in the US territories of Hawaii and Guam last week during a Pacific tour – his first trip since taking office in May.

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The stopovers drew sharp criticism from Beijing, with the foreign ministry accusing Washington of sending “a severely wrong signal to Taiwan independence separatist forces”. It warned that “no one should underestimate [Beijing’s] firm resolve, will and ability to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity”.