Eleven Chinese air force aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Friday, including eight fighter jets, the island’s defense ministry said.
Taiwan has complained over the last few months of repeated missions by China’s air force near the island, concentrated in the southwestern part of its air defense zone near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.
The White House on Friday said it was keeping a close watch on increased Chinese military activities in the Taiwan Strait, and called Beijing’s recent actions potentially destabilizing.
“We have … clearly—publicly, privately—expressed our concerns, our growing concerns, about China’s aggression toward Taiwan,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
“We’ve seen a concerning increase in PRC military activity in the Taiwan Strait, which we believe is potentially destabilizing,” she said, when asked if Washington was concerned about a possible Chinese invasion.
