Taiwan detected 8 China aircraft & navy ships amid elections 2024

The East Asia country Taiwan detected 8 China PLA aircraft and six navy ships in the early morning amid ongoing general elections in 2024. Taiwan Ministry of Defense reported it.

Taiwan Ministry of National Defense (MND) detected 8 military PLA aircraft of China across the southern defense zone at 6 a.m. PLA refers to the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force. It is the largest and oldest branch of the Chinese armed forces.

Eight Chinese PLA aircraft, one crossing Taiwan's southwestern air defense identification zone, and six Chinese navy ships have been detected ahead of the vote, according to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence.

🟡 LIVE updates: https://t.co/5iKTBfuWW8 pic.twitter.com/qTENVq6CY2
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) January 13, 2024

One of the Chinese PLA aircraft, the Y-8 ASW, entered the southern air defense identification zone of Taiwan SW ADIZ. Moreover, six Chinese navy ships were spotted around the Island’s border with China.

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) further stated that their armed forces have been monitoring the situation and have tasked aircraft, navy ships, and land-based missile systems with responding to these activities.

8 PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 06:00 (UTC+8) today. 1 of the detected aircraft (Y-8 ASW) had entered Taiwan’s SW ADIZ. #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and tasked appropriate forces to respond. pic.twitter.com/z4zZcj4WUG
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) January 13, 2024

However, this development comes just two days after Taiwan hit back at China for its involvement in the general elections 2024 in Taiwan. It condemned the attempts of China to influence the elections.

The Foreign Minister of Taiwan, Joseph Wu, slammed the repeated interference of China in elections. He accused China of once again openly intimidating the Taiwanese people and the international community.

Joseph stated that the elections are under International interest and the repeated interference of China steals the spotlight. China should stop interfering in elections of other countries and start their own.

#Taiwan’s upcoming elections are in the international spotlight & the #PRC’s repeated interference steals the focus. Frankly, #Beijing should stop messing with other countries’ elections & hold their own. Let the #Chinese people freely choose their leaders. JW https://t.co/Wcamt885QM pic.twitter.com/TdTghS82sr
— 外交部 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MOFA_Taiwan) January 11, 2024

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All this dates back to the long-term conflict since the independence of Taiwan from China in 1949. The independence occurred as a result of the 1949 civil war of Taiwanese forces (ROC) with the Chinese Communist Party.

The conflict is due to historical and political disagreement between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (Taiwan’s official name).

Since then, China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and considers it a part of its territory. However, Taiwan maintains its government and considers itself a separate, sovereign state.