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Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The situation in the Taiwan Strait is heating up. China reportedly flew 68 fighter jets and deployed 10 warships to the area around the island on Thursday (9/14/2023).

This figure includes figures from Wednesday morning, when Taipei said 35 warplanes had been detected around the island. “A total of 68 PLA (land force) aircraft and 10 PLAN (navy) ships around Taiwan were detected between Wednesday and Thursday morning,” Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement, as cited by AFP.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said several aircraft and warships had also been detected heading toward the Western Pacific region. However, the planes and ships did not arrive to conduct joint maritime and air training with the aircraft carrier Shandong, one of two aircraft carriers operating in the Chinese fleet.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it detected the aircraft carrier Shandong about 60 nautical miles (111 kilometers) southeast of the island’s southernmost point, heading toward the western Pacific. So far, there have been no official Chinese comments regarding possible activities, including exercises, in the Western Pacific.

Earlier last week, China said its troops were still on alert after two ships belonging to the United States and Canada crossed the Taiwan Strait. The ships are the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and HMCS Ottawa.

The United States and its Western allies have increased freedom of navigation through the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea (SCS) to emphasize that both are international waterways. This angered Beijing.

In April, China conducted military exercises to simulate a siege of Taiwan after President Tsai Ing-wen met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California. China, which unilaterally claims Taiwan as its territory, has increased its military and political pressure on the island in recent years and has become increasingly heated as relations between the two have deteriorated.

(sef/sef)