Taipei: Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) on Thursday reported the operation of five PLAN vessels around Taiwan. The vehicles were detected operating around Taiwan until 6 am (local time) on Thursday.
“5 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. #ROCArmedForce have monitored the situation and responded accordingly. Illustration of flight path isn’t provided due to no PLA aircraft operating around Taiwan were detected,” the Ministry of National Defence said in a post on X.
Earlier on Wednesday, MND reported the operation of three Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels. Of the three People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, one of them entered Taiwan’s eastern Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
On Tuesday, MND reported the operation of eight Chinese military aircraft and five naval vessels. The aircraft and vessels were detected operating around Taiwan until 6 am (local time) on Tuesday. Of the eight People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, six of them crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern and southwestern ADIZ.
Meanwhile, following the White House announcement of arms sales and assistance to Taiwan, China’s foreign ministry said that the “Taiwan issue” is the core of China’s interests and the “first red line that cannot be crossed in China-US relations,” Taiwan News reported.
Further, the ministry also accused the US of “playing with fire.”
A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned the latest US arms package to Taiwan, stating that it “seriously violates the one-China principle and the three Sino-US joint communiques, especially the ‘August 17′ communique, seriously infringes on China’s sovereignty and security interests, and seriously violates the US leaders’ commitment not to support “Taiwan independence.”
The spokesperson claimed that Washington’s actions sent a “seriously wrong signal to the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.”