TAIPEI, Taiwan — On Thursday, Taiwan’s defense ministry declared that, in the course of a single day, it had discovered 35 Chinese military aircraft circling the island.
China, which maintains territorial claims over Taiwan, has said that it will not give up using force to subjugate the self-governing democracy. Beijing has put more pressure on Taipei in recent years; after Taiwan President Lai Ching-te took office last month, the Chinese government held military exercises all around the island. Lai is seen by Beijing as a “dangerous separatist.”
The defense ministry of Taiwan said that Beijing used 62 military aircraft throughout the island during these drills, which is the most in a single day this year.
Twenty-four hours before 6:00 am (2200 GMT), the ministry said on Thursday that it had spotted seven naval vessels and 35 military aircraft from China circling the island.
