China Starts Military Exercises Around Taiwan Taiwan Confirms a total of 71 fighter jets

The Chinese military began patrols and military exercises around Taiwan on the 8th, focusing on verifying its ability to seize air supremacy and other issues.

The Taiwanese side says that a total of 71 aircraft, including Chinese fighter jets, have been confirmed operating in the surrounding airspace, and there are concerns about rising tensions.

The Chinese military announced on the 8th that patrols and military exercises will be conducted in the Taiwan Strait and in the northern, southern and eastern waters and airspace of Taiwan for three days until the 10th.

It appears to be a response to the meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker McCarthy.

On the 3th, the Army, Navy, Air Force and Rocket Forces participated in the meeting, focusing on verifying the ability to seize air and sea supremacy, and creating a posture to intimidate Taiwan.

On the night of the 8th, the state-run China Central Television reported footage of a ship sailing at sea, claiming that the exercise was taking place, but did not explain when or where it was filmed.

On the other hand, according to an announcement by the Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan, a total of 8 aircraft, including Chinese fighter jets, operated in the airspace around Taiwan between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. on March 5, Japan time, and a total of 71 of them crossed the "median line" of the Taiwan Strait or entered the Air Defense Identification Zone off the southwest coast of Taiwan.

A researcher at the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, a Chinese think tank, told the media that the Shandong, the first domestically built aircraft carrier that conducted the first training in the Western Pacific, will participate in the exercises, raising concerns about rising tensions.

U.S. Department of Defense "closely monitors the situation"

Regarding the Chinese military starting patrols and military exercises around Taiwan, a spokesperson for the US Department of Defense issued a statement on the 8th saying that "the situation is being closely monitored."

He said that Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's stay in the U.S. as a transit point was "consistent with the long-standing policy of the United States," and that "there is no reason for China to use this transit as an excuse to distort facts or overreact."

"The U.S. military will continue to fly, navigate and operate safely and responsibly to the fullest extent permitted by international law," it said.