China’s largest military drill in years: 47 aircraft & 90 ships near Taiwan - Video
Taiwan's defence ministry has reported detecting 47 Chinese aircraft near the island within 24 hours, alongside a significant deployment of Chinese naval and coast guard vessels in one of China's largest military exercises to date.
At a press conference in Taipei on Tuesday, December 10, Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng, a senior intelligence official, revealed the scale of the aerial activity recorded in the period leading up to 6:00 am (2200 GMT).
“The Chinese navy and air force’s drills in this area, indeed we have seen numbers becoming increasingly obvious, particularly in the airspace between north of Taiwan and east of Zhejiang. Over the past day, as mentioned in today’s press release, approximately 47 aircraft have been active in that region,” Hsieh stated.
This marked the highest number of Chinese aircraft detected in a single day since October 15, when a record 153 aircraft were observed following major Chinese military drills in response to President Lai Ching-te’s National Day speech.
A senior Taiwanese security official disclosed to AFP that “nearly 90” Chinese naval and coast guard ships were currently operating in waters along the first island chain, which includes Okinawa, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
Defence ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang confirmed that the number of Chinese vessels exceeded Beijing’s maritime response to then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in 2022.
China has conducted four large-scale military exercises over the past two years, including those following Pelosi’s visit and two since President Lai assumed office in May 2024.
Although the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Chinese state media have not publicly announced the heightened military activity, Beijing’s foreign ministry spokeswoman reaffirmed China’s position on Monday, December 9.
“China will firmly defend its sovereignty,” she stated, coinciding with the launch of Taiwan’s own military drills.
