Taiwan Reports 40 Chinese Sorties as 26 Cross Taiwan Strait Median Line

Overview

• Taiwan’s defense ministry said 40 PLA aircraft and 8 PLAN vessels were detected by 6 a.m. local time on Dec. 18, with 26 flights crossing the median line into northern, central, southwestern and eastern ADIZ sectors.
• The ministry reported the PLA Navy’s carrier Fujian transited the Taiwan Strait the previous day, adding that Taiwan’s forces monitored the passage.
• Earlier on Dec. 17, Taiwan logged 23 PLA flights, including 14 that crossed the median line during air-sea joint training with PLAN vessels.
• A Taiwan National Security Bureau report tallied more than 3,570 PLA aircraft entries this year and 39 joint sea-air combat-readiness patrols aimed at testing Taiwan’s alert and response systems.
• China’s defense ministry rejects the median line as a legal boundary and calls the operations lawful, while the U.S. Senate passed the Porcupine Act to expedite defense sales to Taiwan.