Tensions in the Taiwan Strait continue to escalate as China steps up military pressure, with Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence reporting a significant uptick in hostile activity around the island.
By 6 a.m. local time on Sunday, eight sorties of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, seven vessels from the PLA Navy (PLAN), and one additional Chinese government ship had been detected operating near Taiwan.
This article was updated at 8:35am UK time on the 4th of May, 2025 to amend the headline as it incorrectly claimed the forces were positioned in such a way as to surround the island.
8 sorties of PLA aircraft, 7 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 6 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern, southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded. pic.twitter.com/lzURo0sgx1
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) May 4, 2025
Notably, six of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, penetrating Taiwan’s northern, southwestern, and eastern Air Defence Identification Zones (ADIZ).
Taiwanese defence officials said they were closely monitoring the situation and had issued appropriate responses. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Ministry of National Defence stated: “We have monitored the situation and responded.”
This latest activity follows similar incidents the previous day, when seven PLA aircraft also crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern and southwestern ADIZ. These repeated incursions form part of what analysts are calling an increasingly aggressive pattern of Chinese manoeuvres around the self-governed island.
While Taiwan has operated as a de facto independent state since 1949, Beijing continues to view the island as a breakaway province and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve reunification.
The growing frequency of Chinese military operations has raised concerns internationally about stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Taiwan, for its part, has continued to boost its defences and increase readiness in response to Beijing’s actions.
Despite the military posturing, a recent public opinion survey conducted by the Carter Center and Emory University suggests a more nuanced view within China itself. According to the survey, 55.1% of Chinese respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan issue should not be resolved through force under any circumstances.” In contrast, 24.5% expressed support for the potential use of force.
Image Alert5, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Actually that’s a bit of a misrepresentation of Carter centre poll as when you get into it that 55% was mainly from people somewhat agreeing that “the Taiwan issue should not be resolved through force under any circumstances.” Not actually fully agreeing with the statement.
With most responders actually saying that they would agree with military action if that was the last resort, only 18% saying no military action should be used…
It’s a complex survey and it’s interesting that most western media have taken a very positive spin from something that is not really that positive.