China sent its third-largest sortie of warplanes toward Taiwan this year, after the US rejected Chinese claims over the Taiwan Strait and reports of arms sales talks with Taipei in Washington.
Twenty-nine Chinese aircraft, including six H-6 bombers and an electronic intelligence gathering plane, entered Taiwan’s southwestern air defense identification zone Tuesday, according to a tweet from the Ministry of National Defense in Taipei.
“But there’s no way #Taiwan will cave in & surrender its sovereignty & democracy to the big bully,” he added. The latest flights follow reports the Biden administration has decided to reject a vague new assertion by China that the Taiwan Strait is not “international waters,” amid concerns the stance could result in more frequent challenges at sea for the democratically governed island. State Department Spokesman Ned Price reiterated at a Tuesday press briefing that the US believes “the Taiwan Strait is an international waterway.
Separately, Taiwan and US officials are convening in Washington this week to discuss arms sales in meetings traditionally characterized as “monetary talks,” the Taipei-basedreported citing unidentified people. Taiwan National Security Council secretary-general Wellington Koo was set to meet US defense officials, the publication added.