SpaceWar.com reports: “Taiwan said its military was on high alert as Chinese warships sailed near the island on Monday, preparing for a strong response from China to President Lai Ching-te’s stopovers in the United States.
Taiwan said it had also detected Chinese coast guard vessels and that Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had restricted the airspace off the Chinese coast.
‘In response to these actions by the PLA, the MND has initiated combat readiness drills, factoring in enemy threats, weather conditions, and tactical positioning,’ the Ministry of National Defense in Taipei said in a statement.
It added that military units were on ‘high’ alert.
The ministry said its forces had ‘identified PLA Eastern, Northern, and Southern Theater Command naval formations, along with Coast Guard vessels, entering areas around the Taiwan Strait and the Western Pacific’.
There has been intense speculation about the possibility of China launching military drills in response to Lai’s trip to the Pacific that included stopovers in Hawaii and Guam.
There was no immediate public announcement by the PLA or Chinese state media about increased military activity around Taiwan.
However a foreign ministry spokeswoman in Beijing said China would ‘firmly defend’ its sovereignty in response to the Taiwanese drills…”
The post Taiwan military on high alert as China warships sail near island appeared first on JVIM.
Leave a Reply