Beijing launches military exercises as U.S. delegation visits Taiwan
ROC Central News Agency
04/15/2022 07:58 PM
Taipei, April 15 (CNA) China said Friday it had launched military exercises in the vicinity of Taiwan in response to Washington "sending the wrong signal" with an ongoing U.S. congressional delegation's visit to Taipei.
Shi Yi (施毅), spokesman for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command, said in a statement Friday that Chinese destroyers, bombers, and fighter jets had been deployed in the area surrounding Taiwan as well as in the East China Sea to address "the wrong signal" sent by the delegation's visit.
Shi added that the command's troops were on the high alert and would remain determined to defend his country's sovereignty and security.
In a separate statement, Wu Qian (吳謙), spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, described the visiting U.S. congressional delegation's defiance of Beijing's strong protestations as an "act of provocation" that had further escalated tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
While not specifying where or for how long the exercises were being conducted, Wu said the maneuvers were a "necessary action taken to safeguard national sovereignty in view of the current security situation in the Taiwan Strait."
The U.S. delegation, led by the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee Lindsey Graham, touched down in Taipei Thursday evening as part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region that also includes stops in Australia and Japan.
The visit is intended to reaffirm the U.S. support for Taiwan, according to the delegation, which met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) earlier on Friday.
(By Teng Pei-ju)
Enditem/ASG
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