Taiwan Monitors Second Chinese Combat Patrol in a Week as Liaoning Carrier Operates
Taiwan said it is monitoring the second Chinese “joint combat readiness patrol” near the island in a week, accusing Beijing of being “the sole source of instability” in the Asia Pacific. Taiwan’s National Defence Ministry said on Tuesday it had detected 29 Chinese aircraft including fighter jets and seven warships operating around the island; 24 of the aerial sorties crossed the median line. Joseph Wu, secretary-general of Taiwan’s National Security Council, posted: “For the 2nd time in a week, shortly after the Beijing summit, the PLA conducted a ‘joint combat readiness patrol’ around Taiwan. We also spotted the Liaoning carrier group in the West Pacific. This is unprovoked. The PRC is the sole source of instability in the IndoPacific.”
The patrol comes after President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing earlier this month, where the two leaders discussed Taiwan. Xi warned Trump that the two countries could clash over Taiwan declaring independence from China, prompting Taipei to say it was “sovereign and independent” but planned to maintain the status quo. China carried out a similar “readiness patrol” last Tuesday, the day before Taiwan President Lai Ching-te marked his second year in office. China calls Lai a “separatist” and has rebuffed multiple offers from him for talks. Su Tzu-yun, a director at Taiwan’s top military think tank, said Chinese warships equipped with cruise missiles are being deployed as close as 24 nautical miles from Taiwan’s shores during these “combat” patrols. Washington last week paused a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan to conserve munitions for the Iran war.