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China begins second day of drills, Taiwan watching for missiles
China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, began three days of military exercises around the island on Saturday, the day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a brief visit to the United States.
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A man walks with a flag as a ship passes by behind him on Pingtan island, the closest point to Taiwan, in China’s southeast Fujian province on April 8, 2023. China launched military drills around Taiwan on April 8, in what it called a “stern warning“ to the self-ruled island's government following a meeting between its president and the US House speaker.
(AFP/Greg Baker)
C
hina began a second day of drills around Taiwan on Sunday as the island's defence ministry reported multiple air force sorties and said it was monitoring the movement of China's missile forces, as the United States said it was watching too.
China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, began three days of military exercises around the island on Saturday, the day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a brief visit to the United States.
While a security source told Reuters most of Saturday's activities ended by sundown, Taiwan's defence ministry said they had resumed on Sunday and the island's military had spotted multiple aircraft including Su-30 and J-11 fighters, as well as ships.
"Regarding the movements of the Chinese communists' Rocket Force, the nation's military also has a close grasp through the joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system, and air defence forces remain on high alert," the ministry said.
The People's Liberation Army's Rocket Force is in charge of China's land-based missile system.
Seventy-one Chinese military aircraft crossed the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait on Saturday as China began drills around Taiwan in anger at President Tsai's meeting with the speaker of the US House of Representatives.
The three-day drills, announced the day after Tsai returned from the United States, had been widely expected after Beijing condemned her Wednesday meeting with Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.
