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Taiwan records approach of ten Chinese aircraft, two ships

It is noted that three aircraft crossed the so-called midline of the Taiwan Strait and entered the island’s air defense identification zone southwest and southeast of it

© Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP, archive

HONG KONG /XIANGGANG/, March 21. /TASS/. Taiwan has reported the approach of ten aircraft and two ships of the People’s Liberation Army of China (PLA) in the region near the island over the past 24 hours, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement posted on Twitter.

"10 PLA aircraft and 2 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m. (1 a.m. Moscow time - TASS) today. <…> Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities," the statement said.

According to it, three aircraft crossed the so-called midline of the Taiwan Strait and entered the island’s air defense identification zone southwest and southeast of it. The vehicles were: a Y-8 aircraft, BZK-005 reconnaissance drone and Z-9 multi-purpose helicopter.

The PLA has been regularly patrolling the waters near the island in recent months. Tensions in the Taiwan Strait escalated after former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi paid a visit to Taipei last August. China considers such visits as provocations and interference in its domestic affairs.

Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled there after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Official Beijing considers Taiwan a province of the People’s Republic of China and urges foreign countries to comply with the ‘one-China’ policy. Washington remains Taipei’s largest arms and military equipment supplies.

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