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‘If this is not provocation, what is it?’: Taiwan says mainland China sends 4-6 warships every day
- Island’s defence minister says warship presence is in addition to warplane sorties and crossing median line every day since August
- Beijing responds to Tsai Ing-wen’s Double Tenth Day speech, accusing her of distorting cross-strait relations, exaggerating threats and sabotaging ties
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Lawrence Chungin Taipei
The People’s Liberation Army has deployed between four and six warships in waters close to Taiwan every day since August, the island’s defence minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said on Tuesday.
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Chiu said Beijing’s deployments were in addition to the PLA sending multiple daily warplane sorties to the self-ruled island’s air defence identification zone or across the median line in the Taiwan Strait – a de facto line separating the island and the mainland.
Calling the actions proof of provocation from the mainland side, he said the island’s military had tried as much as it could to avoid escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
“But even in peacetime, the PLA has dispatched more than 20 warplanes to fly by Taiwan and cross the median line. Each day it has also deployed four to six warships, or more, in waters around us,” Chiu said.
02:48
Mainland China military exercises continue around Taiwan beyond announced deadline
Mainland China military exercises continue around Taiwan beyond announced deadline
It is the first time the island’s military has revealed its count of PLA warships deployed close to the island every day – a move by the mainland that observers said could help its forces launch a sea blockade or attack the island in a potential cross-strait conflict.
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