Taiwan scrambles jets against renewed Chinese military activity

There was no immediate comment from China.

China often mounts such missions to express displeasure at something Taiwan has done or at shows of international support for the democratically ruled island, especially by the United States, Taiwan’s main arms provider.

It was not clear what might have prompted China to launch its aircraft this time, though a US warship and a US Coast Guard cutter sailed through the Taiwan Strait late last month.

China has described its activities as necessary to protect the country’s sovereignty and deal with “collusion” between Taipei and Washington.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry warned last week that the threat from China was growing, saying China’s armed forces can “paralyze” Taiwan’s defenses and are able to fully monitor its deployments.