The Taiwan Ministry of Defense announced that 12 planes and 5 Chinese ships were detected around the island today, Sunday, including 5 planes that crossed the mid-line of the Taiwan Strait, while Taipei received the Governor of the US state of Indiana, Eric Holcom.

Beijing began conducting exercises near Taiwan earlier this month after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island, which China considers its own, despite strong objections from the Taipei government.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing have greatly exacerbated in recent weeks after Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in early August, despite repeated warnings from China.

Pelosi's trip was followed by another visit of a US parliamentary delegation that arrived in Taipei last week, led by Democratic Senator Ed Markey, and also included 4 members of the House of Representatives.

I landed in Taipei to kick off an economic development trip in Taiwan & South Korea.

Indiana's home to 10 Taiwanese & 12 South Korean businesses.

This week marks my 2nd trip to South Korea as Governor & I'm proud to be the first governor to visit Taiwan since before the pandemic.

— Governor Eric Holcomb (@GovHolcomb) August 21, 2022

New visit

In the same context, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb arrived in Taipei on Sunday, becoming the latest US official to visit Taiwan.

Holcomb wrote - in a tweet - that he would also visit South Korea, while the Taiwanese presidential office said that he would meet with President Tsai Ing-wen Monday morning.

"I'm excited to spend this week building new connections, strengthening long-term relationships, and strengthening our pivotal partnership with Taiwan and South Korea," Holcomb said.

He described his visit to Taiwan and South Korea as an "economic development journey," noting that he is the first governor of a US state to visit Taiwan since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic more than two years ago.

China views US officials' visits as a "provocation" and "sends the wrong signals to the separatists" in Taiwan.

Parallel to the military exercises, Beijing responded to Pelosi's visit by downgrading the level of military dialogue with the United States and suspending cooperation on climate change, among other countermeasures.