Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense reported on Wednesday that 76 Chinese military aircraft, 15 warships, and 4 government vessels operated around the island over the past 24 hours, with 37 aircraft entering Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
The sorties crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered northern, central, southwestern, and eastern sectors of Taiwan’s ADIZ.
In a statement posted to its official X account, the Ministry said, “76 PLA aircraft, 15 PLAN vessels and 4 official ships operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 37 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern, and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded.”
Taiwan’s military responded with aerial sorties, maritime patrols, and ground-based missile systems, maintaining a defensive posture while avoiding escalation.
The surge in activity coincides with a major Chinese military drill officially acknowledged by Beijing. “The Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command (ETC) carried out military exercise code-named ‘Strait Thunder 2025A’ in the middle and southern sea areas of the Taiwan Strait on April 2,” said Army Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the PLA ETC, in a written statement released Wednesday.
According to Shi, the exercise “mainly focused on such training subjects as identification and verification, warning and expulsion, and interception and detention, in a bid to test the troops’ capabilities in regional control, joint blockade, and precision strike.”
Beijing’s announcement comes amid heightened tensions in the region, with China continuing to apply military pressure on Taiwan through regular multi-domain drills and incursions. The PLA’s operations have increasingly included complex, joint-force maneuvers designed to simulate scenarios that analysts say are intended to wear down Taiwan’s readiness and erode its control over contested airspace and maritime zones.