China encircles Taiwan with 41 military aircraft, warships

Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) Chinese military planes and ships surrounded Taiwan on Wednesday during a drill, with some of the aircraft crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the defense ministry said Thursday.

In total, 35 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft and six warships were detected around the island during China's "joint combat readiness patrols," Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) said.

A flight map released by the ministry showed that 12 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, while 15 entered the northern, southwestern and eastern parts of Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

The 12 aircraft that crossed the median line included two drones, which flew along Taiwan's east coast before circling back, and one "support aircraft" that was flying off the island's southeastern shoreline.

Meanwhile, six PLA vessels were detected in waters near Taiwan in the 24-hour period starting at 6 a.m. Wednesday, according to the MND.

The incursions took place between 12:03 p.m. and 9:57 p.m., information released by the MND showed.

On the question of what may have prompted the incursions by China, Chieh Chung (揭仲), a research fellow at the Association of Strategic Foresight, said he did not think it resulted from the presence of the Taiwan delegation on the sidelines of United States President Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.

The Taiwanese delegation received the same level of hospitality as during the inauguration of previous U.S. presidents, Chieh noted.

Chieh was referring to the seating arranged for Taiwan's delegation members, which were at nearby locations rather than the Capitol Rotunda where the ceremony was held and where seats were reserved for U.S. big tech and business moguls, senior American politicians, and other world leaders.

Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) -- who led the delegation -- said he and Taiwan's representative to the U.S. Alexander Yui (俞大㵢) joined other guests at the Capitol Visitor Center, called Emancipation Hall, to watch the swearing-in on a large screen.

Other members -- seven cross-party lawmakers -- watched a livestream in a VIP area of the Capital One Arena, just over a mile from the Capitol Building, Han said.

Furthermore, whenever China is aiming to send a political message by means of military activity, its actions usually include some form of propaganda, Chieh said, noting that there was none of that on Wednesday.

For example, the two Joint Sword exercises the PLA staged around Taiwan last year were accompanied by online videos of Chinese fighter jets and warships, as well as statements by Chinese officials released through Chinese state-controlled media shortly after the drills began, he noted.

The lack of such propaganda on Wednesday suggests that the drill was routine, Chieh said.

The PLA has routinely staged three to five "Joint Combat Readiness Patrols" per month since February 2024, he added.

Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑), an assistant professor at Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, agreed that Wednesday's drill by the PLA was routine and was not linked to the Taiwan delegation's visit to the U.S.

There were no surprises during the Taiwan delegation's visit to Washington, D.C. for Trump's inauguration, Lin said.

The PLA last staged an exercise on a similar scale on Jan. 14, when 14 of the 24 PLA aircraft detected in Taiwan's ADIZ crossed the median line of the strait during a joint combat readiness patrol.

During another drill a week earlier, 14 of the 25 PLA planes detected in the same area crossed the median line.

An ADIZ is a self-declared area in which a country claims the right to identify, locate and control approaching foreign aircraft but is not part of its territorial airspace as defined by international law.