45 aircraft, 14 warships: Taiwan reports largest Chinese military presence in 2025 after 'live-fire' drills

The escalation comes a day after Taiwan accused Beijing of conducting live-fire exercises without prior warning in an area about 40 nautical miles (74 kilometres) off its southern coast read more Chinese and Taiwanese flags are seen in this illustration, on August 6, 2022. Reuters File Taiwan's defence ministry said Thursday (February 27) that it had detected 45 Chinese aircraft and 14 warships operating near the island, marking the highest military presence recorded this year. The surge in activity follows Taipei's condemnation of China's recent "live-fire" drills off its southern coast. In the 24-hour period ending at 6 am Thursday…