HONG KONG, February 17. /TASS/. Taiwan’s armed forces have registered the approach of 41 aircraft of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and nine warships of the PLA Navy near the island, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense reported.
"41 PLA aircraft, 9 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. today (10:00 p.m. GMT on Sunday – TASS). 28 out of 41 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern, central and southwestern ADIZ (air defense identification zone – TASS)," the Taiwanese military said in a post on X. "We have monitored the situation and responded," the post reads.
Taiwan’s defense agency has regularly recorded the approach of Chinese warplanes and warships of late.
Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled there after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Beijing considers Taiwan a province of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).