Taiwan tracks 5 Chinese military aircraft, 4 naval ships: Reports

Of the five People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, two crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered the southwest corner of the country’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND as quoted by Taiwan News.

Taiwan in response sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed land-based air defense missile systems to monitor the PLA activity.

The MND also tracked eight Chinese balloons on Friday at 7:09 a.m., 7:10 a.m., 7:41 a.m., 8 a.m., 10:09 a.m., 10:41 a.m., 10:55 a.m., and 6:22 p.m. They disappeared sequentially at 7:42 a.m., 7:47 a.m., 8:14 a.m., 9:52 a.m., 10:16 a.m., 12:32 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 7:41 p.m, reported Taiwan News.

What is the basis of China’s claim over Taiwan?

The basis of China’s claim over Taiwan dates back to 1945 when Japan lost its control over the island in 1945,post-World War Two. The 1949 Chinese civil war lead to communists taking control and Chiang Kai-shek the one who lost fled to Taiwan. He ruled it for many decades. This is where China’s claim to Taiwan emanates. The very fact that Chiang Kai-shek came to Taiwan and was not indigenous to the place is Taiwan’s argument against the claim.

The question is why is Taiwan important to China?

“A lot of things actually, which of course are related to Taiwan but not necessarily direct to Taiwan. It's more about (China's) relationship changing with United States – or we should say Western Countries, mainly United States and China. Taiwan then happens to become key player and main actor in this dynamics,” said Alice.

100 miles from the coast of China, Taiwan is an island, that is located in the “first island chain,” this positioning makes it crucial to the US foreign policy.