China is stepping up military preparedness to overtake Taiwan, the island's Foreign MinisterJoseph Wu said today, following a recent increase in Chinese drills near the island which Beijing considers its own, Reuters reports. Taiwan has complained that China has stepped up threatening military activities near Taiwan in recent months. "Looking on the long-term trend, China appears to begradually stepping up its military preparedness, especially in air or on the waters near Taiwan," Wu told reporters. Taiwan's defense ministry in June reported eight incidents of intrusion of Chinese military planes in its air defende identification zone, in which Taiwan jets gave radio warnings to usher the intruders out of the airspace. He said China has also made several "simulated" military attacks on Taiwan.

Source: The Standard July 22, 2020 08:48 UTC