1 June 2024

Chinese Activity Around Taiwan Intensifies

Micah McCartney

The skies around Taiwan have seen an uptick in Chinese air force activity just days before the inauguration of the self-ruled island's next president.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said that as of 6 a.m. Wednesday, it had detected 45 People's Liberation Army aircraft operating in the area. Twenty-six flew across the median line of the Taiwan Strait, a demarcation that China until recent years largely respected, and into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Six Chinese warships were also observed nearby but beyond Taiwan's territorial waters.

An ADIZ is an area where passing foreign aircraft are required to identify themselves. It differs from territorial airspace in that failure to comply is not considered a violation under international law.

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