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Taiwan says 25 Chinese warplanes, three ships approach island in past 24 hours

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait escalated following US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last August

HONG KONG, March 1. /TASS/. The Taiwanese military detected three ships and 25 aircraft belonging to the Chinese People's Liberation Army around the island in the past 24 hours, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

The ministry noted that 25 Chinese military aircraft and three naval vessels had been detected around Taiwan by 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

According to the ministry, the island’s armed forces are monitoring the situation, with aircraft, Navy vessels and land-based missile systems remaining on high combat alert. Nineteen J-10 fighter jets entered Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone, the ministry specified.

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait escalated following US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last August, which provoked a backlash from Beijing. Taiwan has been governed by its local administration since 1949 when the remaining Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to the island after being defeated in China’s civil war. Since then, Taiwan has preserved the flag and some other symbols of the Republic of China that had existed in mainland China before the Communists came to power. Beijing regards the island as one of its provinces and this position is supported by most countries, including Russia.

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