Tensions flare as Chinese flights near Taiwan intensify

By HUIZHONG WU and DAVID RISING
Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — With record numbers of military flights near Taiwan over the last week, China has been stepping up its harassment of the island it claims as its own, demonstrating a new level of threat as it asserts its territorial ambitions in the region. With the combination of fighters, bombers and reconnaissance aircraft, experts say the latest sorties resemble a dry run for an attack. The U.S. has called China’s latest actions “risky” and “destabilizing,” and at the same time has stepped up naval maneuvers in the Indo-Pacific with its allies, challenging Beijing’s claims in critical waterways, while Taiwan has been left pleading for more global support.