Taiwan on April 15 announced it was monitoring a second “joint combat patrol” by China near the island within a week, accusing Beijing of being the sole source of instability in the Asia-Pacific region.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said its forces had responded to the situation. The move came after a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing earlier this month, where the two leaders discussed the Taiwan issue.
China considers the self-governed island a part of its territory. Taiwan rejects China’s sovereignty claims.
Taiwan’s defense ministry reported detecting 29 Chinese aircraft, including fighter jets, and seven naval vessels operating near the island. Of those, 24 aircraft crossed the median line—an unofficial air and maritime buffer zone running through the middle of the Taiwan Strait. Beijing did not immediately comment and does not recognize this boundary.
Joseph Wu, Secretary-General of Taiwan’s National Security Council, accused China of being the sole source of instability in the Indo-Pacific region. On social media platform X, he wrote: “For the second time in a week, right after the Beijing summit, the PLA conducted a ‘joint combat patrol’ around Taiwan. We also detected the Liaoning carrier group in the western Pacific. This is an unfounded act. The PRC is the sole source of instability in the Indo-Pacific.”
Earlier, on April 12, Wu stated that China had deployed over 100 ships along the first island chain, a stretch running from Japan through Taiwan to the Philippines.
Earlier this month, President Xi Jinping warned Trump that the two countries could clash over Taiwan if the issue were mishandled. Since then, Trump has cautioned Taipei against declaring formal independence from China, prompting the island to assert its sovereignty and independence while intending to maintain the status quo.
Trump recently indicated he would speak directly with Taiwan’s leader, a significant breach of U.S. diplomatic norms. U.S. and Taiwanese leaders have not held direct talks since 1979, when Washington and Beijing formally established diplomatic relations.
The United States is Taiwan’s largest arms supplier and is legally bound to provide the island with means of self-defense. In December last year, Trump approved the largest-ever arms package for this ally. However, last week, Washington announced it was suspending a $14 billion arms sale agreement to Taiwan to conserve ammunition for the conflict against Iran.
