Taiwan detects 16 Chinese sorties

Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Saturday it detected 16 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels operating around the island in the 24 hours to 6 a.m., the latest sign of sustained military pressure in the Taiwan Strait. The ministry said 13 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the strait and entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zone. Taiwan’s armed forces monitored the activity and responded with aircraft, ships and coastal missile systems, according to the ministry’s daily report. The disclosure came as attention remained fixed on comments by U.S. President Donald Trump that he could speak with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, a step Beijing has long opposed. ### How unusual was Saturday’s activity? Saturday’s tally of 16 aircraft and eight vessels was higher than the six aircraft and 10 vessels Taiwan reported a day earlier, according to ministry summaries carried by regional media. Taiwan publishes near-daily counts of Chinese military activity around the island, and the figures have become a regular barometer of pressure from Beijing. (msn.com) The median line crossings were the more sensitive detail. Taiwan’s defense ministry said 13 aircraft crossed that once-unofficial buffer in the strait before entering parts of its ADIZ, an area Taiwan monitors for security purposes. ### Why are Trump’s comments drawing attention in Taipei and Beijing? (msn.com) Donald Trump said this week he would speak to Lai, according to reports cited by Reuters and other outlets, reviving a diplomatic question that has long carried outsized weight in U.S.-China-Taiwan relations. Taiwan’s foreign ministry said Lai would be happy to take such a call, while Reuters reported on May 22 that no talks were currently planned, citing U.S. and Taiwanese sources. (msn.com) Beijing opposes official contact between Washington and Taipei because China claims Taiwan as its own territory. The Chinese government has not renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control, while Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims. (usnews.com) ### What happened the last time a U.S. leader spoke directly with Taiwan’s president? In late 2016, then president-elect Trump held a roughly 10-minute call with then Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, according to Reuters reporting summarized by U.S. News and other outlets. China responded at the time with a diplomatic protest and criticism of Taiwan, rather than immediate large-scale military drills. (usnews.com) Since then, China’s responses to high-profile U.S. engagement with Taiwan have become more forceful. Reuters noted that Beijing launched major war games around Taiwan after then U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei in 2022, and it has staged other drills in reaction to U.S. contacts with the island. (usnews.com) ### What did Taiwan say it did in response? Taiwan’s armed forces said they tracked the Chinese aircraft and vessels and deployed combat air patrol aircraft, navy ships and coastal missile systems. The ministry uses the same reporting format in its daily public disclosures on People’s Liberation Army activity near Taiwan. (usnews.com) Taipei has not linked Saturday’s activity directly to Trump’s remarks. But the timing placed the military movements alongside renewed discussion of possible direct contact between Washington and Taipei, an issue that has repeatedly triggered Chinese objections. ### What comes next? (msn.com) Reuters reported on May 22 that no Trump-Lai call was currently scheduled, citing sources in Washington and Taipei. Taiwan’s defense ministry is expected to continue issuing its daily updates on Chinese air and naval activity, including the next 24-hour tally after 6 a.m. local time on Sunday. (usnews.com)