China deploys planes around Taiwan – DW – 10/27/2024

Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Sunday (10/27/2024) that Chinese aircraft and warships conducted another “combat patrol” near the island, as Beijing threatened to retaliate over US arms purchases.

The Pentagon said Friday that the United States has approved a $2 billion arms sales package to Taiwan, including the delivery of its first combat-tested air defense missile system to Ukraine.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said it had spotted 19 Chinese military aircraft, including Su-30 fighter jets, on a “joint combat readiness patrol” around Taiwan with Chinese warships on Sunday.

China vows “countermeasures” after arms sales to Taiwan

China conducts such patrols around Taiwan several times a month, but this is the first time Beijing has conducted a new round of large-scale military exercises near the island this month.

In a statement released late Saturday, China’s Foreign Ministry said it strongly condemns and firmly opposes the latest U.S. arms sales.

“China will take resolute countermeasures and take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” the ministry said without elaborating.

Over the past five years, China has stepped up its military operations around democratically-ruled Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

rr (reuters/afp)