China has started military exercises with ships and aircraft near Taiwan, just days after the self-ruled democratic island marked its National Day.

The exercises, dubbed Joint Sword-2024B, began early on Monday and were a “stern warning to the separatist acts of ‘Taiwan Independence’ forces”, said Beijing, which claims the island as its own.

Captain Li Xi, the spokesman for the Chinese military’s Eastern Theatre Command, said the drills were focussed on “sea-air combat-readiness patrol, blockade on key ports and areas” and would also involve an “assault on maritime and ground targets”.

The drills, he added, were a “legitimate and necessary operation for safeguarding state sovereignty and national unity”, and gave no date for their conclusion.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence expressed its strong condemnation of China’s “irrational and provocative actions” and said it had “dispatched appropriate forces to respond accordingly to protect freedom and democracy, and defend the sovereignty” of Taiwan.

As of 8am (00:00 GMT), it said some 25 PLA aircraft and a total of 11 ships, including seven from the navy, were found operating around Taiwan.

“I would like to reassure my compatriots that the government will continue to defend the democratic and free constitutional system, protect democratic Taiwan, and safeguard national security,” he wrote on Facebook.

In recent years, China has stepped up its military activity around Taiwan, which it claims as its own. The latest drills come just days after Lai gave his first National Day address on October 10, promising he would resist any “annexation or encroachment” and that Beijing had no right to represent the island’s 23 million people.

NEW DELHI: Thanks to its recent Rs 3,000-crore funding, SpiceJet has informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) it plans to have all its grounded planes back in the air within 18-24 months.
Ajay Singh’s airline has earmarked Rs 400 crore for spares, maintenance and engineering for this task. In the interim, it will also wet-lease some planes (hire planes with operating crew) to give a boost to capacity, this is what SpiceJet engineering informed the DGCA last Friday when the airline was called for their post-funding plans regarding operational fleet size.
The more comes at a time when the regulator is finalising the winter schedule of flights that will be effective from this month’s end. “The airline informed seven grounded aircraft will be flying again by the calendar year-end,” said sources.
Before it recently secured funding, more than half of SpiceJet’s fleet had been grounded. As on June 30, 2024, 36 of its 64 planes were grounded. And of the 28 airworthy planes, barely a few were flying. Clearly, the airline wants to change that quickly. After securing the funding, SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh told TOI the airline aims to have a fleet of 100 aircraft by the end of 2026.
On Tuesday, the airline announced it will have 10 more planes flying by Nov-end by leasing seven and ungrounding three. Agreements for these seven leased aircraft have been signed and they should be inducted by Nov 15. “Two of these leased aircraft have already arrived in India and are scheduled for immediate induction. SpiceJet will also operationalise its grounded planes in phases, with the first three set to re-enter service before the end of November,” the airline said in a statement.
“This fleet expansion follows SpiceJet’s successful qualified institutional placement (QIP) (for) Rs 3,000 crore…. In addition to the QIP, the airline is set to receive an additional Rs 736 crore from a previous funding round, further bolstering its financial stability and growth trajectory,” the airline said.
SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh said: “This addition is crucial as we continue to meet the growing demand for air travel while strengthening our operational capabilities. With the capital raised, SpiceJet is well-positioned to offer improved services and an expanded route network. We are committed to delivering seamless, reliable, and affordable travel, and we are excited about the future for both the airline and our passengers.”