Beijing/Taipei: China has deployed 150 stealth fighter jets in Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea. The planes are said to have been deployed at bases in Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Eastern Theater Command and Northern Theater Command. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post has reported the story. Two days ago, the Chinese Defense Ministry had issued a warning to Taiwan, saying reunification with China was its only option and that seeking ‘Taiwan’s independence meant war. Against this backdrop, the latest movements from China draw much attention.
Currently, the tensions between the US and China are high, with Taiwan being the main issue. President Xi Jinping had openly warned at an event in 2019 that China would use all options to take control of Taiwan. Since then, China’s armed forces have stepped up operations in Taiwan’s territory and repeatedly carried out incursions with warships, submarines and fighter jets. On the other hand, the United States has also given a clear warning to China by increasing its military presence in the region along with its allies.
Former US President Donald Trump had adopted the stance of providing large-scale cooperation to Taiwan, politically and militarily. The US policy also featured the enhancement of cooperation with Taiwan by other major Indo-Pacific countries. Accordingly, Japan, South Korea and Australia have started strengthening ties with Taiwan at various levels. In addition, Japan and Australia have taken a stand to support Taiwan if a conflict breaks out over the island nation. Just 24 hours ago, Japan’s defence minister had warned that Taiwan’s security was linked to Japan’s security.
China is becoming nervous as other countries have followed suit after the United States and taken a more aggressive stand on the Taiwan issue. Therefore, China has now started threatening other countries, just like it did the United States, over the Taiwan issue. Deploying 150 fighter jets simultaneously at bases in areas near Taiwan and the East China Sea is part of the strategy. Moreover, the South China Morning Post had claimed that the deployment was a warning to Taiwan and its allied nations, such as Japan and South Korea.
Even as news of the deployment of 150 Chinese fighter jets surfaced, a new missile corvette was reported to have joined the Taiwan Coast Guard fleet on Friday. Also, Taiwan said that the warship would be equipped with anti-ship missiles. It is the second warship to join the Taiwan Coast Guard, and 12 more warships are to join it.
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