TAIPEI, May 10 ------ Taipei's Defense Ministry said it had detected more than 20 Chinese warplanes and five navy warships around the East Asian island, a day after a United States warship sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait.
The military presence around Taiwan comes less than two weeks before its inauguration of incoming leader Lai Ching-te, who Beijing regards as a "dangerous separatist." China, which claims self-ruled, democratic Taiwan as part of its territory, frequently sends warplanes and naval ships around the island. The 180-kilometer (110-mile) Taiwan Strait separates Taiwan from China and is an important transport artery for cargo ships.
The Defense Ministry said 23 Chinese warplanes and five navy vessels were spotted around Taiwan in the 24 hours leading up to 6 a.m. on Thursday. "[Eight] of the aircraft crossed the median line," it added, referring to a line bisecting the Taiwan Strait that is not recognized by Beijing. The Chinese military presence coincided with a US warship — the USS Halsey — sailing through the narrow body of water on Wednesday. The destroyer "conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit on May 8 through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law," the US 7th Fleet said on Wednesday.
The Halsey's transit "demonstrates the United States' commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle," it added. "No member of the international community should be intimidated or coerced into giving up their rights and freedoms." In a statement on Wednesday night, Col. Li Xi, spokesman for the Chinese People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command, called the US warship sail-through "public hype." He added that the Eastern Theater Command had also organized naval and air forces "to monitor the passage of the US ship through the entire process." "Troops in the theater remain on high alert at all times and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security," the statement said. Before Taiwan's January 13 elections, China had warned that Lai would bring "war and decline" to the island, making the lead-up to his May 20 swearing-in ceremony a closely watched period as tensions soar between the two sides. China has said it would not renounce the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.
Lai, like outgoing leader Tsai Ing-wen, does not recognize China's claim to the island.
Source: manilatimes.net
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