Taiwan’s defense minister warns of Chinese military’s ‘sudden entry’ close to island

Taiwan Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng warned on Monday the island has to be on alert this year for Chinese military’s “sudden entry” into areas close to its territory amid the rising military tensions across the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

China has stepped up its military activities around Taiwan in recent years, including almost daily Air Force incursions into the island’s air defense identification zone.

However, Taiwan has not yet reported any incident of Chinese forces entering its contiguous zone, which is 24 nautical miles (44.4 kilometers) from its coastline.