DEFENSE/19 PLA aircraft, ships detected near Taiwan: MND

Taipei, July 2 (CNA) Nineteen People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft and vessels were detected in the airspace and waters around Taiwan in the 24-hour period starting at 6 a.m. on Monday, including a number of aircraft flying as close as 47 nautical miles from Keelung, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).

Thirteen Chinese military aircraft were detected in Taiwan's vicinity, of which 10 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or its extension, entering the country's air defense identification zone (ADIZ), flight information released by the MND on Tuesday showed.

Of the 10 aircraft, some flew as close as 47 nautical miles (87 kilometers) from Taiwan's northern port city Keelung, according to the ministry.

An ADIZ is an area in which a country claims the right to identify, locate, and control approaching foreign aircraft, but it is not part of the country's territorial airspace as defined in international law.

Meanwhile, six PLA vessels were detected in waters off Taiwan during the same 24-hour period, according to the MND.

Taiwan's defense ministry said it was closely monitoring the situation and had deployed combat air patrol aircraft, coastal missile systems, and Navy vessels in response.

The MND started publishing daily numbers of PLA aircraft and ships detected around Taiwan in September 2020, when the frequency of Chinese military aircraft crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait saw a marked increase.

Such incursions now happen on a near-daily basis.

At a meeting with members of the United States Congress' U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission last week, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said that China had continued to "step up its military operations in and around the Taiwan Strait and in the South China Sea."

"Taiwan will continue to manage cross-strait relations responsibly and will endeavor to maintain the status quo across the Taiwan Strait and in the Indo-Pacific region", said Lai.