Taiwan scrambled its air force Thursday as nine Chinese aircraft have entered the island nation’s air defense zone, the Taiwan Ministry of Defense announced.
A small fleet of eight J-16 fighters and a Yun-8 technical reconnaissance aircraft breached the air space. The Taiwanese aircrafts broadcast a warning and monitored the Chinese fleet’s activities.
“This is not unusual,” a U.S. Defense official told Fox News. “China has done this in the past a couple months ago had similar type of events regularly.”
A Defense Department spokesman said that the Pentagon is “aware of the reporting” and that the U.S. remains “concerned” by “provocative military action near Taiwan.”
“The United States will continue to support a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues, consistent with the wishes and best interests of the people on Taiwan,” the spokesman said, stressing that such action is “destabilizing” and undermines regional peace and stability. “Our commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region.”
The last such incursion occurred on Jan. 23 when 39 Chinese aircraft flew into the defense space, but the new fly-by occurs at a time of heightened tensions.
Taiwan increased its alert levels as Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine Thursday local time. China criticized the move by saying Taiwan is “not Ukraine.”
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei stressed that Taiwan was a “core issue” for China and it would tolerate no foreign interference.
“We urge the U.S. side to recognize the high sensitivity of the Taiwan issue, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and stop playing with fire on the Taiwan issue,” Tan said, according to Reuters.
And China appeared to stress that coverage of Russia’s invasion could play into helping “solve the Taiwan issue once and for all.”
Horizon News, a social media account belonging to CCP-owned Beijing News, appeared to accidentally post the instructions for Chinese media coverage Wednesday in a post that was later deleted.
The instructions noted that no posts unfavorable to Russia or with pro-Western content should be published, according to the Washington Post.
HD Editor’s Note: Why Is This News Biblically Relevant?
According to the Washington Post, the official Chinese government press agency stated that they must be “moderately pro-Russian in words” is because “In the future, China will also need Russia’s understanding and support when wrestling with America to solve the Taiwan issue once and for all.”
Former US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he believes China will soon follow Russia’s lead and invade Taiwan. Additionally, he underscored that both Russia and China would not be taking these aggressive actions under his administration.
Following the United States’ pull out of Afghanistan in August 2021, several bad actors on the geopolitical world scene became emboldened by the weakness evident within the Biden Administration.
Shortly after events in Afghanistan, China warned Taiwan that America would not come to their defense “once war breaks out in the straits,” citing the pullout of US troops from Afghanistan as evidence.
“The simple fact is Putin and Xi sense real weakness in the American commander in chief,” Newt Gingrich recently wrote.
“Weakness when facing dictators is always dangerous. The situations in Ukraine and Taiwan are both dangerous. Our commander in chief appears incapable of meeting the dual challenge,” Gingrich insisted. “These are very dangerous times.”
Amid global escalation, Jack Hibbs, in a separate post, reminded Christians of Jesus words in Matthew 24.
“Jesus said as we approach the last days you will hear of wars and rumours of wars,” He said on Telegram.
In Matthew 24, the disciples ask Jesus, “What shall be the sign of thy coming?” Jesus’s response is a detailed description of the condition of the world and what it will look like in the last days before His return. Wars and rumours of wars, nation rising against nation, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, these being the beginning of sorrows.
In Luke 21:25, Jesus describes that “upon the earth” there will be “Distress of Nations with Perplexity.“
These things will be greatly increased and primarily take place during the seven-year Tribulation (from which the church is absent). However, with the current global state of turmoil amongst the nations, we can’t help but recognize the distress of nations Jesus describes in Luke 21 and Matthew 24, rising in our world today.
