Between Sunday and Monday morning, 103 Chinese military aircraft flew towards Taiwan, 40 of which crossed the median line between China and Taiwan, according to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry. Also, nine Chinese warships were operating near Taiwan during the same time period. Taiwan labeled the exercise as “harassment” and said, “We urge the Beijing authorities to bear responsibility and immediately stop such kind of destructive military activities.” China has been conducting increasingly larger military exercises in the region as tensions mount between China and the U.S. Some analysts think that the exercises could also be an attempt to influence Taiwan’s upcoming presidential election in January. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said last week he thinks that China is preparing for war with the U.S. He said, “China has been re-optimizing its forces for great power competition and to prevail against the U.S. in the Western Pacific.
