In the wake of this month's Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, and as a 'paused' but still looming major US-approved weapons deal and transfer to Taipei is set to go forward, China is stepping up military patrols near and around the self-ruled island of Taiwan.

Taiwan's military is currently on high alert, having on Tuesday dispatched ships and fighter jets tomonitor the second Chinese "joint combat readiness patrol" in a weeknear the island.

In a fresh post on X, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said its forces had responded to the situation afterdetecting29 Chinese aircraft, including fighter jets, and seven warships operating around the island.

The ministry further alleged thattwo-dozen of the aerial sorties had crossed the median line, an unofficial maritime and aerial buffer zone dividing the Taiwan Strait, but which Beijing doesn't recognize as having any real legal bearing.

Joseph Wu, secretary-general of Taiwan’s National Security Council, issued some provocative remarks as the security situation unfolded, blasting China as being thesole source of instabilityin the Asia Pacific region.

"For the 2nd time in a week, shortly after the Beijing summit, the PLA conducted a'joint combat readiness patrol'around Taiwan. We also spotted the Liaoning carrier group in the West Pacific.This is unprovoked. The PRC is the sole source of instability in the IndoPacific," he stated on X.

Ratcheting tensions stretched back through the weekend, withReutersreporting that "On ⁠Saturday, Wu said China had deployed more than 100 ships up and down the first island chain, an area that stretches from Japan down to Taiwan and into the Philippines."

Last week wereportedthatChina has been actively holding up a proposed visit by Elbridge Colby,the Pentagon's under-secretary of defense for policy. The move is a transparent effort to pressure President Trump over alooming $14 billion weapons package for Taiwan.

Sources familiar with the talks told theFinancial Timesthat Beijing signaled it "cannot approve a visit until Trump decides how he will proceed with the arms package."

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao has since revealed that theUS is indeed pausing the $14BN arms sale in question, though he framed the move as due to the Trump administration's war with Iran.

Source: ZeroHedge News