A Chinese military exercise zone was established approximately 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers) off the southwestern coast of Taiwan, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense announced on Wednesday. The ministry condemned the move as “provocative and dangerous” citing Taiwan’s repeated complaints about Chinese military activities, including full-scale war games in the past three years.
According to the ministry, 32 Chinese military aircraft were spotted in the area around 9 a.m. conducting a “joint combat readiness exercise” with Chinese warships in the Taiwan Strait.
China has not officially confirmed the exercise, which comes shortly after an underwater cable for data transmission was cut off the coast of Taiwan on Tuesday. The damaged cable belongs to Taiwan’s telecommunications provider, Chunghwa and is suspected to have been cut by a Chinese-registered, age-deteriorated ship with a Chinese owner, reportedly anchored in Africa.
Security circles in Taiwan believe that the People’s Republic of China may cut off external communication links in the event of a blockade or annexation of Taiwan.
To prevent disruptions, Taiwan’s largest telecommunications provider, Chunghwa, rerouted the affected news transmission over other cables. The “Hong Tai” freighter, carrying eight Chinese crew members, was brought into the Anping harbor and the crew members were detained pending further investigation.