Taiwan reports renewed Chinese military activity

(Patria) - Taiwan's Ministry of Defence reported renewed Chinese military activity around the island on Friday, including 13 aircraft entering Taiwan's "response" zone and five ships conducting combat-ready patrols, Reuters reported.

China held one-day drills around Taiwan on Saturday in response to brief stops in the United States this month by Vice President William Lai.

The ministry said that starting around 7 a.m., it detected 22 Chinese aircraft (fighters, bombers, early warning aircraft, and drones), 13 of which entered Taiwan's "response" zone, although it did not provide details. Taiwan sent aircraft and ships to monitor them, it said.

Taiwan does not disclose the location of its "response" zone, but it most closely monitors the Taiwan Strait and the area to the south and southwest of the island where Chinese military activities are often concentrated.

China has not announced further drills around Taiwan since Saturday, although it often carries out such missions without acknowledging them before or after. Taiwan's Ministry of Defence said this week that it could not assess whether the Chinese drills that began on Saturday had formally ended, as Beijing had not made any announcement. China has continued military movements around Taiwan, albeit on a smaller scale.

The ministry said in a separate statement on Friday morning that it had detected two Chinese drones near northern Taiwan during the previous 24 hours. Both crossed the median line of the strait, the report said, which until last year served as an unofficial border between the two sides, but which Chinese aircraft now routinely cross.

One of the drones, identified by the ministry as a BZK-005, crossed the median line off Taiwan's northwest coast and then flew north of the island before flying northeast of Taiwan.

Taiwan did not report any Chinese military aircraft in its territorial airspace, although it said the aircraft had approached the island's adjacent zone, which is 24 nautical miles from its coast.