BEIJING (Al Jazeera) – Ten Chinese aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, normally an unofficial barrier between the two sides, Taiwan’s defense ministry said, as Beijing continues its military activities near the island.
Nine Chinese fighter jets and one military drone crossed the median line in the 24 hours to 6am local time on Saturday (20:00 GMT on Friday), the ministry said in a daily report on Chinese military activities.
Taiwan sent combat aircraft to warn away the Chinese aircraft, while missile systems monitored them, the ministry said, using standard wording for its response.
Nine Chinese aircraft that crossed the median line on Friday were carrying out combat readiness patrols, a move that Taiwan’s defense ministry said has “deliberately created tension” and undermined peace and stability.
Beijing has threatened unspecified retaliation if Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, now travelling in Central America, should meet United States House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy as she transits through the U.S. on her trip to Latin America.
Tsai arrived in Guatemala on Friday on a visit to shore up ties with dwindling allies after Honduras became the latest country to cut diplomatic relations with Taipei in favor of Beijing. She will also visit neighboring Belize.
Tsai is expected to meet McCarthy in Los Angeles on her way back to Taipei later this month from Central America.
Washington had said there was no reason for China to “overreact” to the “normal, uneventful” trip, while Beijing warned the U.S. was “playing with fire” over Tsai being hosted by officials in the U.S.
China staged war games around Taiwan in August after then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei, and has continued military activities near Taiwan, though on a reduced scale.
A senior Taiwan official familiar with the island’s security planning told Reuters this week that China was unlikely to repeat such large exercises.
Beijing reiterated its sovereignty over Taiwan, saying no individual or force can hold China back from achieving the goal of national reunification.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday that Beijing is firmly opposed to any form of official interaction between the United States and Taiwan.
“We have time and again made our position clear on the so-called ‘transit’ for Tsai Ing-wen to go to the US. China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the United States and the Taiwan region. We firmly oppose any visit by the leader of the Taiwan region to the United States in any name or under whatever pretext, and we firmly oppose the US government having any form of contact with the Taiwan authorities,” she said.
“It has been proven again that the reported trip is not so much a ‘transit’, but an attempt to seek breakthroughs and propagate Taiwan secessionism. I want to emphasize that whatever the Taiwan authorities say and do, they cannot change the basic fact that Taiwan is part of China’s territory. No individual or force can stop China from achieving national reunification,” said the spokeswoman.
Meanwhile, senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi called on the U.S. to implement the high-level consensus reached by the two heads of state last year.