Taiwan detects 103 Chinese warplanes, asks Beijing to stop 'destructive, unilateral action'
Chinese navy warship
Taiwan on Monday (Sept 18) said that it detected 103 Chinese warplanes around the island in 24 hours, sounding alarm bells over the heightened presence of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
"103 PLA aircraft and 9 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected" between Sunday and Monday morning, the defence ministry said in a statement, referring to China's air force and navy.
The ministry said that the number of Chinese military aircraft carrying out missions over the sea in the last 24 hours was a "recent high".
The ministry said that 40 of the planes detected Sunday and early Monday crossed the symbolic median line between Taiwan and mainland China.
Taipei urged Beijing to stop “destructive, unilateral action”, warning such harassment could lead to a sharp increase in tensions.
Increased military drills
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It comes at a time when China has been undertaking military drills near the self-ruled island in a bid to increase pressure as it asserts claim over Taiwan, which it considers a part of its territory.
Between Wednesday (Sept 13) and Thursday ((Sept 14) morning, Taiwan’s defence ministry detected 68 PLA aircraft and 10 PLAN vessels in a day.
The previous day on Tuesday, Taiwan said it detected 35 warplanes around the island.
It is believed that the Chinese drills coincided with a joint maritime exercise conducted by the US, South Korea and Canada that happened on the Yellow Sea on Thursday.
The military build-up is part of China’s attempts to lay claim over Taiwan and its integration into the mainland.
Plan for peaceful unification
On Tuesday (September 12), the Chinese policymakers unveiled a new plan to move forward with the country's bid for "peaceful unification" with Taiwan.
Under the measures, the Chinese policymakers plan to turn Fujian province into a model zone for "integration" with the island nation.
The plan, which has been jointly issued by the Communist Party's Central Committee and the State Council, China's cabinet, aims to "deepen cross-strait integrated development in all fields and promote the process of peaceful reunification".
Apart from that, the proposal includes making it easier for Taiwanese people to live, study and do business in Fujian and encouraging companies in the province to hire staff from Taiwan.
They also call for Xiamen coastal city to speed up integration with Kinmen and Matsu, two groups of islands that lie just a few miles off the coast of mainland China but are governed by Taiwan.
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