China sent 30 military aircraft, including fighter jets, to Taiwan's air defense zone as Taipei is posed to strengthen its security relations with the United States.
Beijing's latest incursion on Monday, its second-largest this year, occurred in Taiwan's southwestern region of its air defense identification zone (ADIZ), as Taipei's defense ministry reported, per Al Jazeera.
The intrusion was the largest since Beijing deployed 39 aircraft into the ADIZ in January. It launched 18 warplanes into the area earlier this month.
Beijing claims Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out using force to seize control of the island.
The US has accused China of escalating the conflict across the Taiwan Strait in recent months, citing aircraft incursions as an example of "increasingly provocative" language and conduct, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Even though the United States has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it is the island's most significant international supporter and weapons supplier and continues a policy of "strategic ambiguity."
Following the latest incursion, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen announced Tuesday that the Taiwan military and the US National Guard were discussing "cooperation."
Tsai met with visiting US Senator Tammy Duckworth at her Taipei office, noting that Duckworth was one of the principal proponents of the Taiwan Partnership Act.
The legislation has bipartisan support in the US Congress but has not yet been signed into law.
"As a result, the US Department of Defense is now proactively planning cooperation between the US National Guard and Taiwan's defense forces," Tsai said, though she did not elaborate on the measure.
US Ready To Defend Taiwan With Military Force
Last week, US President Joe Biden announced that he would be willing to use military force to help Taiwan defend itself.
On his first trip to Japan since taking office, Biden was asked by a reporter at a joint media conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida if the US would be ready to defend Taiwan if attacked. The US head of state answered, "Yes," in adherence to the commitment of Washington to Taipei.
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"We agree with the One China policy. We signed on to it. All the attendant agreements [were] made from there. But the idea that that can be taken by force, just taken by force. It's just not, it's just not appropriate," Biden noted.
Though Biden stated that he did not expect such an act to occur or be undertaken, as per a report from CNBC.
Taiwan's Foreign Ministry expressed gratitude to Biden for confirming US backing for the island in the event of an invasion by Beijing.
China's Foreign Ministry, on the other hand, expressed "strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition" to the statements.
Continued Intimidation by Beijing
NDTV reported Chinese jets entered Taiwan's ADIZ 969 times last year, more than double the 380 times they did in 2020 per an AFP database.
On October 4, 2021, China sent the most planes in a single day, with 56.
There were a total of 196 intrusions in that month, most of which occurred around China's annual national day celebrations.
Taiwan has reported 465 incursions so far in 2022, up roughly 50% from the same period last year.
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