HONG KONG, June 28. /TASS/. The Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense (MND) has recorded the passage of two Russian Navy warships off of the east coast of the island.

According to the MND, at 11 p.m. (6 p.m. Moscow time) on June 27 two Russian warships were spotted sailing from south to north in the waters off of Taiwan’s eastern coast. The defense agency said that the vessels passed from south to north and then exited Taiwan's offshore area headed for open international waters in a southeasterly direction off of the port of Suao.

The defense agency also said that the Taiwanese military monitored the presence of the Russian vessels and engaged planes, ships and coastal missile systems to counter any potential threats.

The Russian Pacific Fleet’s press office earlier reported that the corvettes Gromky and Sovershennyy traversed the South China Sea and then entered the southern section of the Philippine Sea, where the vessels are conducting maneuvers as part of a long-distance, blue-water ocean patrol aimed at demonstrating Russia’s naval presence in the Asia-Pacific region.