From Ministry of Defense, Taiwan:
China sent a record number of military aircraft to menace self-ruled Taiwan in a large show of force to the Biden administration, signaling that Beijing wants to maintain pressure on Taiwan even as some tensions between the superpowers are easing.
The swarm of Chinese fighter jets, maritime patrol planes and drones that buzzed the airspace near Taiwan in the 24-hour period leading to Monday morning demonstrated Beijing’s appetite for confrontation with the United States over Taiwan, the island democracy China claims as its territory.
The military activity — which, according to Taiwan, included at least 71 Chinese aircraft — came days after President Biden’s latest move to expand American support for the island. Beijing has denounced the United States’ effort as an attempt to contain China and interfere in its domestic affairs.
(From Media Bias Fact Check: “Overall, we rate The Scotsman Least Biased based on balanced editorials. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing and a clean fact check record.” MBFC )
According to Axios, The Eastern Theatre Command of the Chinese Army said in a statement it conducted “joint combat readiness patrols and joint firepower strike drills” around Taiwan in a “resolute response to the current escalation of collusion and provocation from the United States and Taiwan.”
