The Taiwan defence ministry took out a statement Thursday, claiming that nine Chinese aircraft had entered its air defence identification zone, hours after Russia invaded Ukraine, The Hill reported. 

As per The Hill’s reports of the ministry’s statement, there were eight J-16 sorties and one Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft. The ministry also tracked the flight paths, watching them go over the northeast of the Pratas Islands, which are controlled by Taiwan, Reuters reported. 

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Further, Reuters reported Taiwanese fighters being sent out to warn the Chinese and air missiles being placed to monitor the situation. 

Amid the Ukraine crisis, the Taiwanese president urged for greater vigilance of military activities. China’s foreign ministry, in the meanwhile, urged that Taiwan has always been a part of China and is nothing like Ukraine, The Hill reported. 

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A US defence official had said in December last year that Taiwan was in urgent need of bolstering defences since China posed a real and dangerous threat of annexing Taiwan. The Hill reported the official saying, “Bolstering Taiwan’s defences is an urgent task. We are modernizing our capabilities, updating U.S. force posture and developing new operational concepts”.

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Presently, the Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen, told the group working on the Russia Ukraine crisis that all military and security units “must raise their surveillance and early warning of military developments around the Taiwan Strait”, The Hill reported. 

The tense situation between Russia and Ukraine, which had been festering for months, has turned into a blown-out invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s Russian army. Although the Russian president has labelled it a special military operation, Ukraine and NATO countries have viewed it as an invasion. Accordingly, Russia is looking at a slew of sanctions, many of which are to specifically target Russian wealthy individuals or businesses. China has remained supportive of Russia during this time, urging other nations to recognize Russia’s security concerns.