Taiwan reports surrounded by 153 Chinese military aircraft during drills

Exercises raise regional tension warns Taipei; US slams war games as it launches drills with Philippines.

Taiwan detected 153 aircraft surrounding its territory as China carried out massive military exercises, according to the self-ruled island’s defence ministry.

The “surge in warplane activity” saw a record number of aircraft spotted in the 25 hours to 6am on Tuesday (22:00 GMT, Monday), the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement. China’s war games have once more raised tensions with the island and across the region, it noted.

Beijing deployed fighter jets, drones, warships and coastguard ships to encircle Taiwan on Monday. Taipei said it responded by dispatching “appropriate forces” and placing its outlying islands on heightened alert.

The defence ministry said 90 of the Chinese aircraft were spotted within Taiwan’s air defence identification zone.

China said the one-day drill, designated “Joint Sword-2024B”, was a warning against “separatist acts”. The war games followed a National Day speech last week by Taiwan President William Lai Ching-te that Beijing had denounced.