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Enraged by the US official’s visit to Taiwan, China announced on Friday that it would hold military exercises in the Taiwan Strait.
Seeing the close ties between Taipei and Washington, China has recently stepped up exercises with Taiwan. Last week, China also conducted two-day air and sea exercises in the area.
US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Keith Crouch will meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday. On a three-day trip, Crutch landed in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, on Thursday.
China has said it will respond immediately. Then on Friday, 16 Chinese jets flew over the middle line of the Taiwan Strait, according to the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense.
China’s exercise near the Taiwan Strait during the visit of the United States ambassador
The United States is increasing arms sales to Taiwan to pressure China
In a statement in English on Twitter, the ministry said: “On September 17, two H-8 fighter jets, eight J-16, four J-10 and four J-11 crossed the middle line of the Taiwan Strait and entered in the ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) southwest of Taiwan. “
The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense has shown a map of the route by which these Chinese fighter jets flew. They have also shown that they have crossed the middle line Taiwanese style. Typically, fighter jets from neither side cross this midline.
But this time, according to Taiwan, China has flown a lot of fighter jets there. Taiwan’s Liberty Times newspaper reported that Taiwanese fighter jets circled the sky 16 times over 4 hours on Friday morning, warning Chinese fighter jets to move away.
The newspaper also published a picture of an F-16 fighter jet loading missiles at Hualien Air Base on the east coast of Taiwan.
Meanwhile, at a press conference in Beijing on Friday morning, a spokesman for the Chinese Defense Ministry said: “China is conducting military exercises near the Taiwan Strait.” In that sense, it is reasonable to assume that the exercise is a step towards safeguarding regional integrity and national sovereignty. “
China considers Taiwan an isolated province. They have also threatened to use force if Taipei tries to become independent.
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