Taiwan said on Thursday that it was closely watching the Chinese military, which it said posed a rising threat to the region, after a flurry of warplanes passed near the island to join drills with China’s Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific. The Chinese military exercises coincide with a NATO summit in Washington, where a draft communique says China has become a decisive enabler of Russia’s war effort in Ukraine and Beijing continues to pose systemic challenges to Europe and to security. The Shandong passed close to the Philippines on its way to the Pacific exercises, Taiwan’s defense minister said on Wednesday.

Taiwan monitoring Chinese military surge, calls China a threat to stability. (2024, July 12). BusinessWorld, p. S1/11.