China sends nearly 200 aircraft near Taiwan in October

Beijing [China], November 1 (ANI): China has sent over 200 aircraft towards Taiwan for exercises in the month of October, ramping up military pressure on the self-ruled island.
On Sunday, the last day of October, eight PLA aircraft, namely one Y-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft, six J-16 fighter jets and one KJ-500 early warning aircraft, entered the island of Taiwan's self-proclaimed southwest air defence identification zone, with the Y-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft also flying southeast of the island through the Bashi Channel, the island's defence authorities said in a press release.
This brought the PLA aircraft activity tally in October to 196, according to Taipei-based news website ettoday.net.
This included the record-breaking 38 aircraft on October 1, 39 on October 2 and 56 on October 4.
Taiwan has been witnessing an increase in incursions as Beijing claims full sovereignty over the democratic island.
Taiwan is a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.
Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing.
China has also threatened that "Taiwan's independence" means war. On June 1, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to complete reunification with self-ruled Taiwan and vowed to smash any attempts at formal independence for the island. (ANI)