Taiwan eyes Chinese military surge, says it threatens stability

Taiwan said that it was watching the Chinese military, which it said poses a rising threat to the region, after a flurry of warplanes passed near the island.

Taiwan said Thursday that it was closely watching the Chinese military, which it said posed a rising threat to the region, after a flurry of warplanes passed near the island to join drills with China’s Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific.

The Chinese military exercises coincide with a NATO summit in Washington, where a draft communique says China has become a decisive enabler of Russia’s war effort in Ukraine and Beijing continues to pose systemic challenges to Europe and to security.

The Shandong passed close to the Philippines on its way to the Pacific exercises, Taiwan’s defense minister said on Wednesday.

In its daily update on Chinese military activity over the past 24 hours, released on Thursday morning, Taiwan’s defense ministry said it had detected 66 Chinese military aircraft around the island.

Of those, 39 passed to the south and southeast of Taiwan, the ministry said. On Wednesday the ministry said it had detected 36 aircraft heading to the Western Pacific to carry out drills with the Shandong.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/taiwan-eyes-chinese-military-surge-threatens-stability-rcna161303

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