China is flying a combat drone around Taiwan – to demonstrate its ability to attack bases on the island’s east coast – as 38 warplanes from Beijing circle the democratic territory.

A Chinese unmanned combat aircraft flew around Taiwan, the island’s defense ministry said, to demonstrate Beijing’s ability to attack its east coast backup bases while a US maritime patrol plane flew through the Taiwan Strait.

China, which views democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, has increased military pressure on the island over the past three years to force Taipei to recognize its claim to sovereignty.

China held war games across Taiwan this month after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said in an update on Chinese military activity over the past 24 hours early Friday that 38 military aircraft had entered the island’s anti-aircraft identification zone.

One was a TB-001 drone, nicknamed the Two-tailed Scorpion, which flew around Taiwan, first crossing the Bashi Channel that separates Taiwan from the Philippines, then to eastern Taiwan before heading to the Chinese coast returned, according to a ministry card.

A TB-001, nicknamed ‘Twin-Tailed Scorpion’, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UCAV), performs during Airshow China 2022 at Zhuhai Air Show Center November 9, 2022 in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China

It was observed between 06:00 (1000 GMT) Thursday and 06:00 Friday.

Chieh Chung, a military researcher at Taiwan’s National Policy Foundation think tank, said China would likely send the TB-001 during a war to discover targets on the island’s east coast, where Taiwan would protect reserve troops as bases there not China will face.

“This would allow communist army, navy and air forces in the western Pacific, including air strike groups or carrier battle groups, to launch attacks on the east coast,” he said.

He added that this is not the first time a Chinese drone has bypassed Taiwan, but most likely the first time it has done so entirely within Taiwan’s air defense zone.

Chinese state media dubbed the TB-001 a “two-tailed scorpion” and shared photos of it with missiles, saying it was capable of long-range, high-altitude missions.

The Chinese Air Force has conducted so-called “island encirclement” missions with the manned, nuclear-capable H-6 bomber.

Tensions over Taiwan have alarmed Washington and its allies, which have repeatedly expressed concern about China’s behavior and have not called for a forced change in the status quo.

A US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime reconnaissance and reconnaissance aircraft flew through the Taiwan Strait on Friday, and a senior French lawmaker confirmed that a warship from his country had recently crossed the sensitive waterway.

The United States, and sometimes its allies, have regularly sent warships and aircraft through the Taiwan Strait in recent years.

According to the US Navy’s 7th Fleet, the Poseidon was flying in international airspace.

“By operating in accordance with international law in the Taiwan Strait, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations,” the statement said. “The plane’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

The Chinese military said it was monitoring the plane and accused the United States of provocative behavior in the strait.

A Sichuan Tengden TB-001, nicknamed the “Twin-Tailed Scorpion” for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), flies at the 13th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, south China’s Guangdong province , September 28, 2021

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen meets with US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, the United States, April 5, 2023

Last year China said it had sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait and said it was “a false claim” to designate the strait as international waters.

The United States and Taiwan both say China’s position is wrong.

A French lawmaker and former defense minister met with Tsai at her office in Taipei on Friday and said sending a warship through the strait showed his country’s commitment to security.

“I would like to tell you that our Parliament believes that Taiwan’s security is of great concern to us, and we encourage our authorities to be vigilant about security in the strait, as the recent passage of our warship once again demonstrated. ‘ said Frans. Alain Richard, Vice President of the Senate, said.

He did not say when the voyage took place, and neither the French nor Taiwanese governments have officially confirmed the details. Taiwan’s defense ministry said it was informed of the transit this month.

French President Emmanuel Macron recently warned of a crisis over Taiwan driven by “an American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction.”