China has deployed nearly twenty planes and drones around the island, after a sale of American missiles to Taipei

On the giant screen of a shopping center in Beijing, a news program broadcasts Chinese military exercises around Taiwan, October 14, 2024. GREG BAKER / AFP China has deployed nearly twenty fighter planes and drones as part of a “joint combat readiness patrol” around Taiwan on Sunday, October 27, Taiwanese authorities said. The Taiwanese defense ministry said it had detected nineteen Chinese aircraft near the island for nearly four hours, accompanied by warships. This is the third such patrol reported by the Defense Ministry in October. “The Taiwanese military closely monitored the situation through joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, and deployed aircraft, warships and land-based missile systems as an appropriate response,” added the ministry. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers One military exercise after another, China is preparing for a potential invasion of Taiwan Add to your selections China condemned on Saturday evening the sale to Taiwan of American missile systems approved on Friday by Washington, denouncing an action which “seriously harms Sino-American relations” and “endangers peace” in the region. This transaction “seriously violates China’s sovereignty and security interests” in the Strait, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The document specifies that Beijing could take “all necessary measures to firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity”. A sale worth more than $1 billion The transaction worth $1.16 billion, which must still be validated by the US Congress, includes various anti-aircraft systems, including Nasams and 123 missiles, according to the US agency responsible for the sale of military equipment abroad. Another sale announced Friday concerns radar systems for a total amount of $828 million. The equipment will be taken directly from US Air Force stocks. Taiwan’s defense ministry expressed its “sincere gratitude” on Saturday for the sale, which could help the military “continue to improve its defense capability and jointly maintain peace and stability across the strait.” Read also | In the Taiwan Strait, an aircraft carrier deployed by China the day after new maneuvers Add to your selections The United States does not recognize Taiwan as a state and considers the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate government, but nevertheless brings to Taipei significant military aid. Beijing regularly opposes American support for the island and accuses Washington of meddling in its internal affairs. China considers Taiwan as a part of its territory that it has not yet been able to reunify with the rest of the country, since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. If it says it favors “peaceful reunification”, it does not has never renounced the use of military force and regularly sends warships and fighter planes around the island. In mid-October, Taiwan detected a record number of 153 Chinese planes in a single day near the island following a day of Chinese military maneuvers. A month earlier, Beijing had sanctioned American defense companies, in retaliation for Washington’s approval of the sale of military equipment to Taiwan. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers In Taiwan, a fiction to prepare minds for a Chinese invasion Add to your selections Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content



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