TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) 鈥 China鈥檚 military sent 103 warplanes toward Taiwan in a 24-hour period in what the island鈥檚 defense ministry called a recent new high.
The planes were detected between 6 a.m. on Sunday and 6 a.m. on Monday, the ministry said. As is customary, they turned back before reaching Taiwan. Chinese warplanes fly toward the self-governing island on a near-daily basis but typically in smaller numbers. The Taiwan ministry didn't explain what time period it meant by a 鈥渞ecent鈥 high.
China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, has in the air and waters around Taiwan as tensions have grown between the two and with the United States. The U.S. is Taiwan鈥檚 main supplier of arms and opposes any attempt to change Taiwan鈥檚 status by force.
The Chinese government would prefer that Taiwan come under its control voluntarily and last week unveiled a plan for an integrated development demonstration zone in Fujian province, trying to entice Taiwanese even as it threatens the island militarily in what experts say is China鈥檚 .
The recent actions may be an attempt to sway Taiwan鈥檚 presidential election in January. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which leans toward formal independence for the island, is anathema to the Chinese leadership. China favors opposition candidates who advocate working with the mainland.
The presidential candidates had no comment Monday on the latest Chinese military activity.
Taiwan鈥檚 Defense Ministry said that 40 of the planes crossed the symbolic halfway point between mainland China and the island. They included more than 30 fighter jets as well as midair refueling tanker planes. Taiwan also reported nine Chinese naval vessels in area waters in the previous 24 hours.
The ministry called the Chinese military action 鈥渉arassment鈥 that it warned could escalate in the current tense atmosphere. 鈥淲e urge the Beijing authorities to bear responsibility and immediately stop such kind of destructive military activities,鈥 it said in a statement.''
China last week sent a flotilla of ships including the aircraft carrier Shandong into waters near Taiwan. The drills came shortly after the U.S. and Canada , the waters that separate the island from the mainland.
Taiwan and China split in 1949 when the communists took control of China during a civil war. The losing 香港六合彩挂牌资料ists fled to Taiwan and set up their own government on the island.
Only a few foreign nations give the self-governing island official diplomatic recognition. The U.S. among others has formal ties with China while maintaining a representative office in Taiwan.
___
Find more of AP's Asia-Pacific coverage at
