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Chinese manoeuvres near Taiwan. "They will be run regularly"

Fighter jet takes off from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Liaoning during a training exercise 

 

The World Daily | News Desk           APRIL  6th   2021

 

The Chinese Navy has confirmed that the aircraft carrier Liaoning strike team is participating in an exercise near Taiwan. It was announced that such manoeuvres would be conducted regularly in the future.

The intensification of Chinese military exercises near Taiwan is in line with the growing tensions on the Beijing-Taipei line. The communist authorities of the PRC recognize Taiwan as part of their territory, but the democratically elected government of the island considers it an independent state.

The Chinese Navy has announced that the aircraft carrier Liaoning - the first of two such ships in its possession - is conducting "routine exercises" in waters off Taiwan. Their goal is - according to Chinese forces - "to increase the ability to protect the country's sovereignty, security and development interests."

"Similar exercises will be conducted regularly in the future," added the press release. It was not stated when the current manoeuvres began or until when they would last.

The Taipei Ministry of Defence said it is monitoring the situation in the air and in waters surrounding Taiwan. Previously, Taiwanese authorities have repeatedly reported incursions by Chinese military planes into the island's air defence identification zone.

 

The Chinese tabloid Global Times emphasized that the destroyer Nanchang from the new series, known as the Type 055, which entered service last year, was taking part in the exercise. "Combining aircraft carriers with the large Type 055 destroyers will become the standard configuration of Chinese carrier task forces in the future," the newspaper reported.

The Global Times wrote that the US Navy has recently launched provocations against China, marking its presence in the South China Sea. "We will not allow US warships to gain any advantage on our doorstep," Beijing military commentator Wei Dongxu told the newspaper.

The US, like most countries in the world, does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. However, they are considered the island's main ally and are its largest supplier of weapons, against which Beijing regularly protests. The PRC authorities consider the Taiwan issue to be one of the most important contentious issues in their relations with the US.

 

© The World Daily 2021 | News Desk

 

 

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