China’s military drills appear to simulate attack, says Taiwan

A Chinese J-11 military fighter jet flies above the Taiwan Strait near Pingtan, the closest land of mainland China to the island of Taiwan, in Pingtan in south-eastern China’s Fujian Province, on Friday (Ng Han Guan/AP)

Taiwan has said China’s military drills appear to simulate an attack on the self-ruled island, after multiple Chinese warships and aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan’s armed forces issued an alert, dispatched air and naval patrols around the island, and activated land-based missile systems in response to the situation, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence said on Twitter.