Taipei [Taiwan], May 5 : Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) has said that six sorties of People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft and People's Liberation Army Naval (PLAN) vessels were detected until 6 am (local time) on Monday.
According to Taiwan's MND, four of six sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, southwestern and eastern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). In response to Chinese activity, Taiwan's armed forces deployed aircraft, naval ships, and coastal missile systems to monitor the situation.
"6 sorties of PLA aircraft and 8 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 4 out of 6 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly," Taiwan's MND posted on X.
This incident follows a recent pattern of escalated manoeuvres by China around Taiwan, sparking concerns over regional stability as Beijing continues to assert its claims over the island. Taiwan has been governed independently since 1949. However, China considers Taiwan part of its territory and insists on eventual reunification, by force if necessary.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted by the Carter Center and Emory University in Atlanta revealed last week that over half of the Chinese population opposed using force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, as reported by Taipei Times.
The findings, released on Wednesday in a report titled "Sovereignty, Security, and US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion, indicated that 55.1 per cent of participants either agreed or somewhat agreed that "the Taiwan issue should not be resolved through force under any circumstances. In comparison, 24.5 per cent either 'strongly or somewhat' disagreed with this statement, according to Taipei Times.
These results reflect a shift in perspective compared to a survey published in May 2023 titled "Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification with Taiwan: Evidence from a Nationwide Survey in China," which showed that 55 per cent of respondents supported a full-scale war for unification with Taiwan, as noted in the Carter Center report.
Nonetheless, many participants in the recent survey mentioned that they would endorse military action if it were deemed the final option. Only 18.1 per cent stated that military action was unnecessary.
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