Taiwanese officials say 39 Chinese military aircrafts, 3 ships, entered area close to island

Officials in Taiwan say that 39 Chinese military aircraft and three vessels entered an area close to the island on Thursday morning local time.

The Taiwan Ministry of National Defense says that the aircraft and vessels were located by 6 a.m., adding that it is monitoring them closely.

“39 PLA aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. 30 of the detected aircraft had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest and southeast ADIZ. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities,” the statement read.

FILE: In this undated file photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of Defense, a Chinese PLA J-16 fighter jet flies in an undisclosed location
(Taiwan Ministry of Defense via AP)

On Wednesday morning, 11 Chinese military aircraft and three vessels were seen entering an area near the island.

TAIWAN MONITORING CHINESE MILITARY PLANES, SHIPS NEAR ISLAND; DEPLOYS AIRCRAFT, VESSELS TO RESPOND

Taiwanese government officials are under the impression that China is trying to create a pretext for an attack on the island.

Taiwan’s foreign minister, Joseph Wu, told The Guardian that China was “getting more serious than ever.”

Chinese military helicopters fly past Pingtan island, one of mainland China’s closest point from Taiwan, in Fujian province on August 4, 2022, ahead of massive military drills off Taiwan following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-ruled island.
(Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

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“And we are quite sure that the Chinese may want to use another pretext of practicing their future attacks against Taiwan. So this is a military threat against Taiwan,” Wu told The Guardian.

Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.