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Taipei Says 7 Planes and 4 Chinese Ships Seen Around Taiwan. PHOTO/Reuters
TAIPEI – Government Taiwan saw seven planes China and four ships around the island in the last 24 hours. This was announced by the Ministry of Defense of Taiwan, Friday (27/1/2023).
“Today, at 06:00, seven planes and four ships of the PLA (Chinese People’s Liberation Army) were seen in the vicinity of Taiwan,” the ministry said in a statement, as quoted by TASS.
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“Taiwan’s Armed Forces are keeping a close watch on the situation while aircraft, naval forces and ground-based surface-to-air missile systems have increased their alertness,” the statement continued.
As determined by Taiwan’s top officials, Chinese Y-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft and BZK-005 unmanned aerial vehicles entered the island’s air defense identification zone from the southwest.
Chinese soldiers have regularly patrolled the waters around Taiwan in recent months. Tensions across the Taiwan Strait escalated after then-US Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei in August last year. The trip drew sharp criticism from Beijing.
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Taiwan has been ruled by its local government since 1949, when remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) were defeated in the Chinese Civil War and took refuge on the island.
Taiwan has preserved the flag and some other symbols of the Republic of China that existed before the Communists took over the mainland. According to China’s official position supported by most countries, including Russia, Taiwan Island is a province of China.
(esn)