Taiwan says many Chinese aircraft and warships sighted in probable simulated attack

Military drills around the Taiwan Strait

Military drills in the Taiwan Strait, which could be a mock attack on the island, were reportedly observed by Taiwan on Saturday, when "several" Chinese planes and naval vessels were spotted.

Taiwan's Defense Ministry

At least part of the aircraft and warships had crossed over the critical median line that separates Taiwan from China, according to a statement from Taipei Defense Ministry In reaction to the incident, "our military has issued warning messages, dispatched combat air patrol and navy warships, and activated land-based missile systems." Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said that by 5 p.m. local time, 14 Chinese military boats and 20 planes had been spotted in the Strait. According to the report, 14 of the 20 planes breached the median line.

Nancy Pelosi's controversial visit

The goal of Saturday's drills has yet to be announced by the Chinese military. Following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's controversial visit to Taiwan earlier this week, China has conducted a series of military manoeuvres surrounding Taiwan since Thursday. Despite never having had control of Taiwan, the Chinese Communist Party regards it as part of its territory and has long promised to "reunite" the island with the Chinese mainland, even if that means using force.

ADIZ

When Pelosi arrived in Taipei on Tuesday night, the city's opposition to her visit was so fierce that she ignored it and continued on her Asia tour, which ended on Friday in Japan. China is currently ratcheting up military exercises in the skies and waters around Taiwan, as well as stopping cooperation with the United States on a number of different topics, following her visit. According to Taiwan's Defense Ministry, 68 Chinese warplanes flew over the Strait of Taiwan on Friday. 49 of them flew into Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ), a safety net of airspace that protects the country from unintentional attacks from other countries. On the heels of the record-breaking 56 Chinese warplanes entering the ADIZ on the same day last year.

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Formal complaint with Beijing

According to the government, 19 of the warplanes flew above the median line dividing the Taiwan Strait on Friday. To protest China's Thursday launch of 11 ballistic missiles, Japan lodged an official complaint with Beijing, some of which flew over Taiwan and landed in the country's EEZ. When China fired missiles over the island for the first time, it was significant.

Japan's Air Self-Defense Force

The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force dispatched fighter jets to intercept two Chinese drones that flew close to the Okinawa prefecture. According to Chinese official media, the exercises will continue until Sunday evening local time in Beijing. Some regional powers have called for de-escalation in response to the worsening situation in the Taiwan Strait, which has sparked a diplomatic backlash from China.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

This week's ASEAN conference of foreign ministers in Cambodia was tense due to the fact that the agenda originally included discussions on the Myanmar issue, the South China Sea, and the Ukrainian conflict. Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn stated at a Saturday news conference in Phnom Penh that Pelosi's visit to Taiwan added "a fourth hot stone... which has led to heated talks on cross-strait ties."

US Secretary Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang and US Secretary Antony Blinken attended the ASEAN meeting; on Thursday, Wang criticised Pelosi's visit as a demonstration of the "bankruptcy" of US politics and credibility, calling it "manic, reckless, and very unreasonable behaviour. China's response to Speaker Pelosi's visit, Blinken claimed, was a "overreaction and exploit Speaker Pelosi's visit as a pretext to expand provocative military actions in and around the Taiwan Strait."

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Japan and other G7 economies have urged China to halt

Ministers were summoned to the meeting on Saturday, when they were told to talk in a calm, polite, civil, and diplomatic manner. But in our perspective, it's preferable to engage in a dialogue rather than engage in a more adversarial approach," he said. It has been requested by Japan and other G7 countries to stop their military exercises and keep the status quo in the region.

Chinese and Japanese officials

Beijing hasn't listened to their warnings, either. By suspending future phone talks and yearly naval meetings between China and the United States, China has replied. Meetings between Chinese and Japanese officials have also been postponed as a result of this decision. The ambassadors of the United States, Japan, and a number of European countries have also been called by China. Chinese officials on Friday issued a slew of sanctions on the United States, including sanctions against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her family.

China suspended bilateral climate talks

China also paused bilateral climate discussions and delayed cooperation on topics including the repatriation of illegal immigrants and the investigation of transnational crimes and drug operations. "We should not hold hostage collaboration on problems of global significance because of divisions between our two countries," Blinken told reporters on Saturday, addressing in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

Rather than punishing the United States, China's move to postpone climate negotiations "may have permanent ramifications for the future of the area, for the future of our planet," he warned.