Seventy-one Chinese planes and nine ships crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Saturday as China mounted drills around the island it claims as its own territory, Taiwan’s Defence Minister said.
The three-day drills, announced the day after Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen returned from the United States, had been widely expected after China condemned her Wednesday meeting in Los Angeles with the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan’s government strongly objects to China’s claims.
Beijing’s announcement also
