A record-breaking 153 Chinese warplanes flew around Taiwan in war games meant as a warning

• Over 150 Chinese warplanes flew around Taiwan on Monday.
• The record-breaking single-day development occurred during China’s massive war games.
• Beijing said the exercises were meant to test joint military capabilities and warn Taiwan’s “separatists.”

A record number of Chinese military aircraft flew around Taiwan during large-scale war games on Monday, new data from the nation’s defense ministry shows.

The drills, called “Joint Sword-2024B,” involved joint forces simulating surrounding Taiwan, blockading ports, striking targets, and executing assaults.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense reported Tuesday that it detected 153 Chinese People’s Liberation Army aircraft operating around and in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Monday. 111 of the aircraft, Taiwan said, crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s ADIZ. The figure was identified as a record-breaking number.

Earlier Monday, Taiwan’s defense ministry reported 125 Chinese aircraft sorties conducted by 72 aircraft, with 57 entering the de facto ADIZ. Taiwan’s military has said repeatedly that it has been monitoring the activities and responding accordingly.

In response to the large “Joint Sword-2024B” drills, Taiwan dispatched combat air patrol (CAP) aircraft and naval vessels and employed its coastal missile systems.

Chinese military aircraft incursions across the median line and into Taiwan’s ADIZ have become normal activities in recent years, changing a long-held status quo, with China dispatching military planes as an almost daily occurrence. The activities prompt Taiwan to exhaust its military and resources to constantly monitor the incursions, and it fuels China’s campaign to pressure and intimidate Taipei.

The Chinese “Joint Sword-2024B” exercises are assessed to be in response to a National Day speech that Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te delivered on October 10. The Chinese military called the drills a “stern warning.”

Chinese military media, citing Senior Captain Li Xi, a spokesperson for the PLA Eastern Theater Command, said that the drills were focused “on subjects of sea-air combat-readiness patrol, blockade on key ports and areas, assault on maritime and ground targets, as well as joint seizure of comprehensive superiority.”

Beijing also said the exercises aimed to “resolutely” foil the “‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist attempts.” China claims Taiwan as its own, and has not ruled out using force to bring the island democracy under its jurisdiction.

Beyond airpower, during “Joint Sword-2024B,” a follow-up to exercises that occurred in May after Lai’s inauguration, China used its navy and coast guard vessels to surround the main island of Taiwan, simulating what it would be like if Beijing used its forces to subject Taiwan to a blockade. China also placed its first aircraft carrier, CNS Liaoning, off the southeastern coast of the main island. Its air wing was involved in the recent operations.