'57 aircraft, 4 naval vessels operating around island': Taiwan condemns China for latest combat drills

New Delhi: Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Monday that 57 Chinese military aircraft continued to operate around the island, condemning Beijing for holding its second military combat drills in the region in less than a month.

China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, which is democratically administered, and has been increasing pressure on Taiwan in order to make that claim.

According to a Reuters report, the Eastern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said its forces held “joint combat readiness patrols and actual combat drills” in the sea and airspace around Taiwan, focused on land strikes and sea assaults.

The aim was to test joint combat capabilities and “resolutely counter the provocative actions of external forces and Taiwan independence separatist forces”, the report quoted the PLA saying in a statement late on Sunday.

Taiwan’s presidential office said China was making “groundless accusations” and strongly condemned the drills, saying the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait and the region were the common responsibility of both Taiwan and China.

Taiwan’s position is very clear, in that it will neither escalate conflicts nor provoke disputes, but will firmly defend its sovereignty and security, the report quoted the office as saying in a statement.

“The nation’s military has a close grasp of the situation in the Taiwan Strait and the surrounding area and responds calmly. Our people can rest assured,” it added.

On Monday, Taiwan’s defence ministry told Reuters that over the previous 24 hours it had detected 57 Chinese aircraft and four naval vessels operating around the island, including 28 aircraft that flew into Taiwan’s air defence zone.

Some of those 28 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial buffer between the two sides, among them Su-30 and J-16 fighters, while two nuclear-capable H-6 bombers flew to the south of Taiwan, a ministry map showed.

In China’s similar exercises late last month, Taiwan said 43 Chinese aircraft crossed the median line.

With inputs from agencies

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