DEFENSE/China sends record-high 125 warplanes near Taiwan during drills: MND

Taipei, Oct. 14 (CNA) China flew a single-day-high 125 warplanes near Taiwan on Monday, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).

The figures were recorded from 5:02 a.m. when the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Eastern Theater Command announced the start of the drills, codenamed "Joint Sword 2024-B," until 4:30 p.m., the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said at a news conference.

The PLA announced the end of the exercises at 6 p.m.

During that same period, 17 warships and 17 China Coast Guard ships were detected in waters off Taiwan, according to the MND.

As of 4:30 p.m., 90 of the 125 Chinese aircraft entered the military's "reaction zone," Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) from the Office of Deputy Chief of General Staff for Intelligence said.

According to the MND, the reaction zone comprises the area within the country's air defense identification zone between the Taiwan Strait median line and the outer limit of the country's "contiguous zone."

Contrary to what the PLA's maps showed, none of the PLA ships were in Taiwan's contiguous zone, an area inclusive of territorial waters extending 24 nautical miles from Taiwan's shoreline, Hsieh Jih-sheng said.

As of 4:30 p.m., no PLA Rocket Force activities had been detected, and all of the PLA activities that transpired had been foreseen by his office in its tabletop wargames and analyses, he added.

However, China's coast guard did send 12 ships into the reaction zone, CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said.

The CGA responded by dispatching two vessels for each Chinese coast guard ship, Hsieh Ching-chin added.

In addition, cyberattacks recorded as of 3 p.m. had doubled compared with the first two weeks of October, Major General Mao Chien-chiou (毛建秋) from the Office of Deputy Chief of General Staff for Communications Electronics and Information said.

The attempts to hack into the military's internet systems were all blocked and the systems were not compromised, Mao said.