China Sends More Ships and Planes Near Taiwan

The Chinese military has sent a dozen Chinese warships and 47 military aircraft near Taiwan, Taiwanese authorities said.

Taiwan's defense ministry said on Monday it had detected live-fire activity similar to previous exercises.

Taiwan's military has been preparing for possible exercises by China in response to a recent overseas trip by Taiwanese leader William Lai that included stops in the U.S. territories of Hawaii and Guam.

Without any clarification from Beijing, Taiwanese authorities have admitted that the exercise was a military exercise.

Taiwanese Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng noted, however, that the training could turn into exercises and the exercises could turn into war.

"Under the status of a standard exercise, [China] is capable of mobilizing military forces on a large scale and conducting exercises over a wide area," he noted.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and opposes the self-governing island having official interactions with other countries, particularly the United States.

Lai spoke to U.S. congressional leaders by phone while in Guam last week.

While the U.S., like most of the world, does not formally recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state, it is the largest arms supplier to the island of 23 million people.

China, which considers Lai a separatist, has held major military exercises around Taiwan since his inauguration in May and his National Day address in October.

Beijing also launched a major military exercise after Nancy Pelosi, then the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, visited Taiwan in 2022.

Taiwan’s military set up an emergency response center on Monday in response to increased Chinese naval activity and the announcement of flight restrictions in seven areas off China’s east coast. The restrictions are in effect until Wednesday.