Taipei: The Chinese army flew 38 fighter jets and other warplanes near Taiwan. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry gave this information on Friday. Six navy ships were also seen in Taiwan’s waters between 6 a.m. Thursday and 6 a.m. Friday as part of China’s long-running campaign against the self-ruled island. China’s People’s Liberation Army later protested the flight of a US Navy P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine patrol aircraft through the Taiwan Strait in a statement on Friday. Terming Thursday’s flight as a provocation, the PLA military’s Eastern Theater Command said it sent warplanes to monitor the flight.
According to the statement, such action “fully proves that the US is posing a threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.” The strait is an agreed-upon informal border between China and Taiwan. Earlier, Taiwan’s ministry said in a statement, 19 planes flew into the Taiwan Strait. These include five Su-30 and two J-16 aircraft. According to the Defense Ministry, the TB-001 drone circled the island. Despite China’s aggressive attitude, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, hosted Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen in California, USA. Since then China is taking such action.
Significantly, the Chinese government claims that Taiwan is part of its national territory, while the current government of Taiwan says that this self-governing island is already a sovereign nation and is not a part of China. China opposes any contact at the official level between the governments of Taiwan and other countries. The two sides separated in 1949 following a civil war. The island has never been part of China, although China says it could be forcefully incorporated into the mainland if necessary.
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