Taiwan mobilizes army in response to Chinese fire drills off southern coast

Taiwan on Wednesday ordered the mobilization of naval, air and land forces after China carried out military exercises off the island's southern coast, allegedly with live fire, without prior notification.

“This action not only poses a high risk to the safety of international air and sea navigation , but also constitutes an open provocation against regional peace and stability ,” Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.

As of 08:42 hours (00:42, in Lisbon), the military detected a total of 32 Chinese aircraft, including J-11 fighters, KJ-500 early warning aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (“drones”) and “other types of main and auxiliary combat aircraft”, flying over the vicinity of its territory, according to the statement.

Of the total number of aircraft, 22 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and its extension lines, entering the northern and southwestern region of Taiwan's self-proclaimed Air Defense Identification Zone to carry out a "joint combat readiness patrol", the ninth reported by the island's authorities so far this year.

During the exercises, Chinese aircraft “flagrantly violated” international norms by “without prior warning” delimiting an exercise area about 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers) off the coast of Kaohsiung and Pingtung, in southern Taiwan, claiming they were conducting “shooting drills”, the ministry said.

“At a time when the entire world is committed to peace, these actions by China completely contradict its repeated declarations of ‘mutual respect’ and ‘peaceful coexistence’ for ‘shared prosperity’,” the ministry said, adding that China “is the biggest threat to peace and stability” in the region.

These exercises, which have not been officially confirmed by Beijing, are taking place against a backdrop of growing tensions between China and Taiwan, an island governed autonomously since 1949 and considered by Chinese authorities to be its province.

Since the inauguration of Taiwan's current leader, William Lai Ching-te, in May, China has stepped up its military pressure campaign against the island.

Taipei recorded a total of 3,067 incursions by Chinese warplanes in 2024, up 80% from the previous year.