Taiwan’s National Security Bureau (NSB) has accused China’s Communist Party of conducting military drills near the island along with large-scale cyberattacks. According to the bureau, over 19,000 “controversial” messages were shared, millions of hacking attempts were carried out, and 799 abnormal online accounts spread misinformation targeting Taiwan’s military, President William Lai, and US support.
The cyberintrusions intensified during the drills, with government networks facing around 2.08 million attacks on the first day and about 2.09 million on the second, the NSB told the Legislative Yuan. Lawmakers will be briefed by the bureau, Defence Ministry, Foreign Affairs Ministry, and Coast Guard Administration on Thursday regarding the threats.
The NSB stated that China aimed to counter Taiwan’s support from democratic allies, divert attention from internal issues, and project military strength despite anti-corruption efforts. Beijing also reportedly tried to foster nationalist sentiment by portraying the exercises as resistance to foreign interference.
Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said that 207 Chinese military aircraft flew near the island over 48 hours. Of these, 125 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, entering Taiwan’s air defence zone. Despite China claiming Taiwan as a breakaway region, Taiwan continues to assert its sovereignty with strong public backing and monitors China’s incursions closely.
