Images of a new Air Force patch depicting a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh have gone viral in Taiwan, at a time when China conducted a three-day series of military drills across the region, Taiwan News reported.
Beijing's drills on Monday are expected to include live-fire exercises off of China's Fujian province, located only about 80km (50 miles) south of Taiwan's Matsu islands.
"70 PLA aircraft and 11 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities," Taiwan's Defence Ministry said in a tweet.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday called for the European Union to implement its stated policy of "strategic autonomy" and argued the bloc could become a "third pole" alongside China and the US and reiterated that the EU shouldn't follow US or China on Taiwan.
Beijing performed "simulated coordinated precision strikes on important targets in Taiwan" on the second day of the drills, adding to the ongoing tense situation between Taiwan and China, Al Jazeera reported on Sunday.
Taking to Twitter, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence said, "#Taiwan is our homeland, and no matter where we go or what we encounter, she is always charming and beautiful. Every story on this land is etched in our memories. We, #ROCArmedForces, are fighting with all our heart to defend
Types of Chinese planes monitored by the MND Saturday included the J-10, J-11, and J-16 fighter jets, the Xi'an Y-20 transport plane, the H-6K strategic bomber, and the KJ-500 early warning aircraft, Channel News Asia reported.
China deployed warships through waters around Taiwan on Thursday as it vowed a "firm and forceful" response to Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen meeting US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Channel News Asia (CNA) reported. McCarthy, the third highest-ranking official in the US leadership hierarch