Beijing rejects any international acknowledgement of Taiwan’s claim to be an independent country and maintains that the self-governing island is a portion of its territory.
As part of a Pacific tour that has angered Beijing, Taiwan said Friday it had spotted 41 Chinese military ships and planes circling the island before President Lai Ching-te’s stopover in Hawaii.
Taiwan’s defense ministry reported that it has found eight naval boats and 33 Chinese aircraft in its skies and waterways in the 24 hours leading up to 6:00 am on Friday (2200 GMT Thursday).
According to an AFP compilation of numbers given daily by the ministry, it includes 19 aircraft that participated in China’s “joint combat readiness patrol” on Thursday evening, the most in over three weeks.
About 172 kilometers (107 miles) west of the island, Taiwan also sighted a balloon, the fourth since Sunday.
Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research military specialist Su Tzu-yun told AFP, “It can’t be ruled out that there will be a relatively large-scale military exercise in response to Lai’s visit.”
Lai, a vocal supporter of Taiwan’s independence, leaves on Saturday for his first international trip since assuming office in May.
While visiting Taiwan’s three remaining allies in the Pacific, he will make quick stops in Hawaii and Guam, a US territory, to catch up with “old friends.”
China has occasionally retaliated with military exercises surrounding the island when Taiwanese government leaders have previously made stops on US soil while on trips to the Pacific or Latin America.
In order to strengthen Taiwan’s declining diplomatic friends, Lai traveled to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Palau.
After others defected to China, which has more resources for aid and investment, only 12 nations and territories—including the Vatican—have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
