The Ministry of Defense of Taiwan recorded the approach to the island of more than 70 aircraft of the Chinese armyMOSCOW, April 8/ Sputnik Radio.
In Taiwan, the approach of 71 aircraft of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China was recorded against the background of PLA military exercises taking place in the waters and airspace near the island, follows from a statement by the Taiwanese defense ministry.
Earlier, the Ministry of Defense of the island state condemned the conduct of military exercises by China on April 8-10 near the island and informed about the readiness of individual units for possible counteraction to the military of the People's Republic of China.
The Ministry of Defense of Taiwan previously reported that 29 aircraft of the Chinese army crossed the so-called middle line of the Taiwan Strait (the informal border between the mainland and the island) in the south, north and center.
The Eastern zone of the PLA Combat Command, in turn, reported that on the first day of the exercises, the PRC armed forces practiced maneuvers to seize dominance at sea and in the air, combat patrols around the island, as well as complete encirclement of the island.
The training involved destroyers and frigates of the PLA Navy, fighters, bombers, special-purpose aircraft of the Air Force, artillery brigades, units of paratroopers and missile troops.
The situation around Taiwan significantly worsened in early August last year, when the then speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited the island.
China, which considers the island its province, condemned Pelosi's visit, accusing the US of supporting separatism in Taiwan, and also conducted a series of large-scale military exercises near the island.
Mainland China and Taiwan broke off official relations in 1949. Then the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek moved to the island, having been defeated in the civil war.
In the late 1980s, business and informal contacts between the island and the mainland resumed. In the early 1990s, contacts were strengthened by non-governmental organizations: the Beijing Association for the Development of Relations across the Taiwan Strait and the Taipei Cross-Strait Exchange Foundation.
Earlier, Sputnik radio reported how the Chinese Defense Ministry explained the need for exercises near Taiwan.
