The Ministry of National Defense in Taiwan has said it recorded 23 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels around the region between 6 a.m. on Sunday (June 23) and 6 a.m. on Monday (June 24).

Of the 23 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 19 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the northern, southwestern, and eastern sectors of the country’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND as quoted by Taiwan News.

Taiwan responded by sending  aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor the PLA activity.

So far this month, Taiwan has tracked Chinese military aircraft 324 times and naval/coast guard vessels 190 times. Since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating around Taiwan, reported the news portal.

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.

US-Sino relations hinge on, ‘One China Policy,’ it acknowledges that, “there is only one Chinese Government." The US recognises its formal ties with China. With Taiwan the US shares independent strong “unofficial” relations.