Chinese Military Conducts Large Attack Simulation In Taiwan Strait

The Chinese military conducted a simulated invasion of Taiwan on Saturday, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense claimed, as China ramped up its largest-ever military exercises in the Taiwan Strait.

Chinese naval and aerial war exercises surrounding Taiwan come after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with the independently-governed island’s president, a move China deemed provocative and a threat to its territorial sovereignty. China has said it wants to reunify Taiwan, still recognized as part of a broader China under the One China policy, and called the military exercises a “rehearsal” for a future military operation.

“Multiple PLA [People’s Liberation Army] craft were detected around Taiwan Strait, some have crossed the median line,” the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense said in a statement, calling the incursions a “possible simulated attack.” 

Taiwanese armed forces activated ready-alert jets in order to dispel 20 Chinese aircraft, including 14 that crossed the unofficial median line dividing the two countries’ claims in the Taiwan Strait, Reuters reported.