China deploys record number of planes around Taiwan

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense on Tuesday confirmed that 153 Chinese warplanes participated in 25 hours of military exercises targeting Taiwan. However, about 40 of the planes did not cross the midpoint of the Taiwan Strait that separates it from the continent, the ministry noted. China continues to hold the position that Taiwan is part of its territory, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a news conference Tuesday.

The Taipei Times said the exercises set a record for the number of planes detected around the island in a day. Last September, just over 100 Chinese warplanes participated in military exercises near Taiwan during a 24-hour period, Taiwan’s government reported.

Are the exercises over now? The pro-Beijing South China Morning Post on Monday confirmed that China had wrapped up the roughly day-long military exercises. The exercises came just days after Taiwan’s president promised his country would never become a part of mainland China.

Dig deeper: Read Erica Kwong’s report in WORLD Magazine about how Taiwan became a democracy.