Chinese spy ship spotted off Taiwan's east coast for two days

ROC Central News Agency

09/11/2020 03:22 PM

Taipei, Sept. 11 (CNA) A reconnaissance vessel of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been spotted off Taiwan's east coast over the past two days during a Taiwanese missile testing exercise, a military source said Friday.

According to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, military radar detected the PLA reconnaissance ship about 40 nautical miles off Hualien County at 4 p.m. Thursday.

The vessel was then seen about 90 nautical miles off Hualien early Friday, slowly moving southward, the official said.

It was spotted at a time when the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, Taiwan's state-owned weapons system development institution, was testing missiles on Wednesday and Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Navy also detected three U.S. amphibious assault ships about 51 nautical miles east of Orchid Island on Monday, sailing north.

Responding to the military movements, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Shih Shun-wen (史順文) told reporters that the military is closely monitoring the situation around Taiwan and will ensure the country's security.

(By Tyson Lu and Emerson Lim)

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