Taiwan spotted Chinese aircraft and raised the level of combat readiness

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense announced an increase in the level of combat readiness after nine Chinese aircraft were found in its air defense zone on the day the Russian operation in Ukraine began. It is reported by FoxNews.

Eight Chinese J-16 fighter jets and one Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft were reportedly spotted in the island nation’s air defense zone flying over an area northeast of the Pratas Islands in the upper South China Sea.

“This is not unusual,” a US Defense Department spokesman told Fox News. According to him, China has previously held “similar events.”

Taiwan is watching the situation in Ukraine with apprehension. The authorities fear that Beijing may try to take advantage of Moscow’s actions to take its own actions on the island. China, in turn, criticized the increase in the level of combat readiness, saying that Taiwan is “not Ukraine.”

Earlier, former US President Donald Trump said that “China will be next” after Russia, who will aggressively advance on the world stage. During an appearance on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show podcast, Trump said that Chinese President Xi Jinping would take Russia’s actions against Ukraine as a signal to try to take back Taiwan.

Recall, on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an emergency appeal to the Russians and announced a special military operation in the Donbass. In his speech, he stated that “circumstances require decisive action from Russia” and stressed that “Russia will not allow Ukraine to have nuclear weapons.”

According to the Russian leader, the plans of the Russian Federation “do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories,” however, “the Russian Federation considers it important that all the peoples of Ukraine can exercise the right of self-determination.”