Taiwan raises alert level after detecting a second Chinese naval combat patrol in a matter of days
Taipei has stepped up surveillance with warships and military aircraft and is monitoring its neighbour's movements.
The conflict over Taiwan's sovereignty is also heating up in the South China Sea, as the island's government detected the People's Republic of China's "second combat patrol" in waters close to its territory. This raised the alert to the highest level, and Taipei dispatched fighter jets and warships to monitor the maritime border.
Late on Monday, Taiwan's Ministry of Defence reported (via Reuters) that it had detected 21 Chinese aircraft, including J-16 fighter jets and drones, operating around the island, which, together with several warships, were carrying out a "joint combat readiness patrol". China regards Taiwan, with its democratically elected government, as its own territory, and operates its warships and fighter jets around the island almost daily. The Taiwanese government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, whilst the latter brands its president a "separatist".
The secretary-general of Taiwan's National Security Council, Joseph Wu, states that "the People's Republic of China is the sole source of instability in the Indo-Pacific", whilst China's Ministry of Defence did not immediately respond to the press's request for comment on these events.
