The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said that Chinese warplanes and warships had carried out another “combat patrol” near Taiwan, after Beijing threatened to take countermeasures in response to a US$2 billion arms sale package by the US.
The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, to the constant anger of Beijing.
The Pentagon on Friday said that the US had approved a potential US$2 billion arms sale package to Taiwan, including the delivery for the first time to the nation of an advanced air defense missile system battle-tested in Ukraine.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
The MND said it had detected 19 Chinese military aircraft, including Su-30 fighter jets, carrying out a “joint combat readiness patrol” around Taiwan in conjunction with Chinese warships starting yesterday morning.
The Chinese aircraft flew in airspace to the north, center, southwest and east of Taiwan, and that Taiwanese forces were dispatched to keep watch, it said.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not answer calls seeking comment outside normal office hours.
China stages such patrols around Taiwan several times a month, but this was the first since Beijing held a new round of full-blown war games near the nation this month.
In a statement late on Saturday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it strongly condemned and firmly opposed the latest US weapons sales and had lodged “solemn representations” with Washington.
China urges the US to immediately stop arming Taiwan and stop its dangerous moves that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, it added.
“China will take resolute countermeasures and take all measures necessary to firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” it said, without elaborating.
Taipei has welcomed the new arms sale, the 17th to Taiwan under US President Joe Biden’s administration.
“In the face of China’s threats, Taiwan is duty-bound to protect its homeland, and will continue to demonstrate its determination to defend itself,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday, responding to the arms sale.
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