Newsweek
Date: 12/19/17
By: Christina Zhao
A military expert claimed on Monday that recent increases in Chinese military exercises
Image: Getty
focused near Taiwan suggest that the mainland is preparing itself to take over the self-ruled island by force.
In October, The Washington Free Beacon reported that newly disclosed internal military documents proved China has secret plans to invade Taiwan by 2020.
And it appears that the plans have already been set in motion. Over a week ago, China’s air force sent fighter jets, bombers and surveillance aircrafts to conduct “encirclement patrols” around Taiwan airspace. And on Sunday, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) released a video of an H-6K bomber accompanied by two Su-30 fighter jets performing similar exercises around the self-governed island.
“The recent ‘island encirclement’ patrols are very unusual,” Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Dong told the South China Morning Post (SCMP). “The air force is conducting very practical and well-planned patrols near Taiwan to collect up-to-date military intelligence.” [FULL STORY]
