Taipei Detects 13 Chinese Aircraft, 4 Vessels in Taiwan Strait

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Taiwanese armed forces pm Wednesday detected 13 Chinese aircraft and four military vessels in the eastern part of the so-called median line of the Taiwan Strait, the island's defense ministry said.

"4 PLAN [People's Liberation Army Navy] vessels and 13 PLA [People's Liberation Army] aircraft around our surrounding region were detected today (August 24, 2022) until 1700(GMT+8). ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and responded to these activities with aircraft in CAP [combat air patrol], naval vessels, and land-based missile systems," the ministry tweeted.

It also said that "2 of the detected aircraft (SU-30*2) had flown on the east part of the median line of the Taiwan Strait."

Since early August, China has carried out several large-scale military exercises in Taiwan's waters and airspace in response to the visits of high-ranking US officials. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a delegation to Taipei from August 2-3 and Senator Ed Markey from August 14-15.

China had repeatedly opposed visits of senior US officials to the island, as it considers Taiwan part of its territory and protests any direct official foreign contacts with Taipei.