Taipei — Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense reported that it detected 12 sorties of Chinese military aircraft, five naval vessels and one official ship operating around Taiwan’s territorial waters up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) on Sunday. The ministry said nine of the 12 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern and southwestern Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). ROC Armed Forces monitored the activity and took appropriate responses, according to a post by the ministry on X.
The notice followed a similar report from Saturday, when the ministry said it had detected eight PLA aircraft sorties, six PLAN vessels and two official ships around Taiwan. All eight aircraft sorties that day crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s central, southwestern and eastern ADIZ, the ministry added in a separate X post. In both instances the defence ministry said its forces tracked and responded to the movements.
These patrols and incursions reflect ongoing tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Beijing maintains that Taiwan is part of China, a position rooted in historical and political claims and reflected in official policy. Taiwan operates with its own government, military and economy and functions as a de facto independent polity, while avoiding a formal declaration of independence to reduce the risk of military confrontation with the mainland.
The modern dispute has deep historical roots: Qing rule over the island began in the 17th century, Taiwan was ceded to Japan in 1895 after the First Sino-Japanese War, and was returned to Chinese control after World War II without a clearly formalized sovereignty transfer. After the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the People’s Republic of China was established on the mainland while the Republic of China government relocated to Taiwan, resulting in competing claims and an unresolved international status that continues to shape cross-strait and regional security dynamics.
