Taiwan details record surge in planes in China's war games, flags risk to region

By Ben Blanchard

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan's defence ministry said on Tuesday it had detected a record number of 153 Chinese military aircraft participating in China's war games around the island the previous day, detailing a surge in warplane activity.

China said the one-day drill, designated "Joint Sword-2024B", was a warning against "separatist acts" after a national day speech last week by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te that Beijing had denounced.

The drills were not only a concern for Taiwan, but risked destabilising the region, Premier Cho Jung-tai said.

"Any drills without prior warning will cause great disturbance to peace and stability in the entire region," he told reporters in Taipei.

"China's drills not only affect Taiwan's neighbourhood, but also seriously affect the entire international navigational rights and air and sea space, so attracted the attention of other countries."

In a daily update on Chinese military activity around the island, Taiwan's defence ministry said it spotted 153 military aircraft, surpassing Monday's figure of 125 it had called a one-day record.

A ministry map showed 28 of those aircraft had crossed the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait, which had previously served as an unofficial barrier, but one China says it does not recognise.

Other areas that saw activity were waters off the southeastern coast, home to a major Taiwan air base, and to its southwest, at the top part of the South China Sea, site of the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.

Also spotted were 14 ships of the Chinese navy and 12 "official" vessels, the ministry said, referring to ships of the coast guard and similar agencies.

China's drills prompted concern from the United States and its allies, with the Pentagon slamming them as "irresponsible, disproportionate, and destabilising".

China's pressure attempts had only solidified support for Taipei, said Kuan Bi-ling, head of Taiwan's Ocean Affairs Council, which runs the coast guard.

"China's exercise, while intended to put military pressure on Taiwan and the international community, has backfired and led to greater international solidarity against China's expansionist behaviour," she wrote on her Facebook page.

"Cross-Strait relations are no longer just cross-Strait relations; they are now at the heart of international relations in the Indo-Pacific."

Taiwan rejects Beijing's territorial claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Stephen Coates and Clarence Fernandez)