Overview
- Taiwan said it tracked 130 Chinese aircraft and 22 warships in 24 hours, a higher tally than an earlier report of 89 aircraft and 28 vessels.
- Reporters on China’s Pingtan island saw rockets launched as the PLA said long-range fires north of Taiwan achieved their intended effects and practiced port blockades and maritime strikes.
- Taipei condemned the drills as military intimidation, put forces on maximum alert, and said it detected a formation of Chinese amphibious assault ships operating in the western Pacific.
- China’s foreign minister Wang Yi and other officials linked the exercises to opposition to Taiwanese independence and to large recent U.S. weapons sales to Taipei.
- President Lai Ching-te said Taiwan would not escalate the situation, while local reports described flight delays and cancellations affecting travelers.