{"id":67193,"date":"2023-03-01T18:51:53","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T18:51:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/03\/01\/china-sends-25-planes-3-ships-toward-taiwan\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:28:09","slug":"china-sends-25-planes-3-ships-toward-taiwan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/03\/01\/china-sends-25-planes-3-ships-toward-taiwan\/","title":{"rendered":"China sends 25 planes, 3 ships toward Taiwan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TAIPEI, Taiwan \u2014 China<\/a> sent 25 warplanes and three warships toward Taiwan<\/a> on Wednesday morning, the island\u2019s Defense Ministry said, as tensions remain high between Beijing and Taipei\u2019s main backer Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ministry said 19 of those planes crossed into Taiwan\u2019s air defense identification zone while the ships were continuing to operate in the Taiwan Strait<\/a>. It said Taiwan responded by scrambling fighters, dispatching ships and activating coastal missile defense systems to \u201cclosely monitor and respond.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China stages such incursions on a near-daily basis, part of what are termed \u201cgray zone\u201d tactics, aimed at intimidation and wearing down Taiwan\u2019s equipment, exhausting its personnel and degrading public morale. Those also include cyberwarfare and disinformation campaigns, along with a relentless drive to deprive Taiwan of diplomatic allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taiwan has responded by upgrading its fleet of F-16 fighter jets and ordering 66 more of the planes from the U.S., while purchasing a range of other weaponry and extending its mandatory term of military service for all males from four months to one year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relations between Beijing and Washington, Taiwan\u2019s primary ally and source of defensive weaponry, have spiraled over China\u2019s actions toward the island, trade, technology and the South China Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\t