Chinese Military Aircraft J-10 [Screenshot from Liberty Times]

Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has stated that the activity of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) military aircraft near Taiwan has increased approximately 15-fold in the last five years.

According to Taiwan's Liberty Times on the 1st, the DPP's China Affairs Department said, "PLA military aircraft activities near Taiwan have shifted from sporadic movements to high-frequency, normalized operations," adding, "The number of related activities has rapidly increased over the past five years."

According to DPP's statistics, Chinese military aircraft activities near Taiwan increased from 380 in 2020 to 960 in 2021, 1,738 in 2022, 4,734 in 2023, and 5,107 in 2024. Last year, the count was 5,709.

This represents an approximately 15-fold increase over five years.

The DPP argued, "The scale and pace of this increase demonstrate China's intent to make the Taiwan Strait a key stage for so-called 'gray zone operations,' to test deterrence effects, and to deplete Taiwan's defense resources."

It also claimed that China is seeking to alter the status quo based on its expansive military ambitions, leading to a continuous deterioration of the security environment in the Taiwan Strait recently.

Furthermore, it added, "China's strategic objectives are not limited to Taiwan. The Chinese military is also simultaneously conducting high-intensity military and paramilitary actions in areas such as the Senkaku Islands (China's name: Diaoyudao) and the South China Sea, gradually accumulating regional dominance."