Taipei, Dec. 6 (ANI) — Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence reported a rise in Chinese military activity around the island, saying that by 6 a.m. (UTC+8) on Saturday it had detected 29 sorties by PLA aircraft and six PLAN vessels operating near Taiwan.
The MND said 19 of the 29 aircraft sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern, central and southwestern Air Defence Identification Zones (ADIZ). Taiwan’s armed forces monitored the activity and responded, the ministry added.
The ministry noted that on Friday it had recorded a separate episode involving 14 PLA aircraft sorties and five PLAN vessels, with eight of those sorties crossing the median line into Taiwan’s northern and southwestern ADIZs.
Separately, the Taipei Times reported that Ely Ratner, a former U.S. defence official who served as assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security affairs from 2021 to 2025, voiced support for remarks by Japanese politician Sanae Takaichi suggesting Japan might assist in defending Taiwan. Ratner described Beijing’s response to Takaichi as “inappropriate” and said her comments were in line with Japan’s official stance.
On Nov. 7 Takaichi said a Chinese assault on Taiwan could be considered “a situation threatening Japan’s survival,” a comment that prompted a strong reaction from Beijing. China responded with retaliatory measures affecting travel, study and trade ties with Japan and suspended the resumption of Japanese seafood imports. A post by Xue Jian, the Chinese consul general in Osaka, calling for Takaichi to be “decapitated” was published and later deleted.
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