The month of August was marked by a spectacular peak of incursions, Beijing having organized unprecedented military maneuvers to protest against the visit to Taipei of the president of the House of Representatives of the United States, Nancy Pelosi.
Le Monde with AFP
Relations remain tense between Taipei and Beijing. Taiwan was the scene of a considerable number of Chinese air incursions in August, when Beijing protested against the visits of American legislators on the democratic island.
According to a database compiled by the France-Presse agency from figures from the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense, 446 Chinese planes, most of the fighter planes, have entered the air defense identification area (Adiz) of Taiwan in August, more than the 380 chinese devices listed for the whole year 2020. In the first eight months of 2022, Beijing made 1,068 incursions in the Adiz of Taiwan, exceeding the total of 2021 (969).
visits to American elected officials supporting Taiwan
The 23 million inhabitants of Taiwan live under the constant threat of an invasion by China, which considers the island as a part of its territory to reconquer one day, if necessary by force. August was marked by a spectacular peak of incursions in the ADIZ of the island while Beijing organized unprecedented military maneuvers to protest against the visit to Taipei of the president of the House of Representatives of States- Unis, Nancy Pelosi, and other political leaders.
The Chinese Communist Party protests against any diplomatic action capable of giving legitimacy to Taiwan and reacted with increasing aggressiveness to the visits of Western officials and policies.
After the displacement of Nancy Pelosi at the beginning of August, China sent, for a week, warships, missiles and fighter planes in the waters and heaven of Taiwan. These exercises have been the most important and the most aggressive since the mid -1990s.
Beijing threats intensified under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, placing the Taiwanese army more under pressure. Surpassed in number and possession of an aging fleet of fighter planes, Taiwan announced, last week, the increase in his military budget at an unprecedented level, to reach 19.2 billion euros.