China sends military helicopter and three warships close to Taiwan

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – China sent an anti-submarine helicopter and three warships disturbingly close to Taiwan, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defence said in a statement Thursday, Reuters/AFP report. Successive Chinese regimes have considered the independent island nation of Taiwan to be part of China, and the US-supported Taiwanese have long lived under the threat of invasion by their giant neighbor.

In its statement, Taiwan’s defense ministry said: “1 PLA aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today.” Without going into detail, the Chinese government said it was increasing its patrols in the sea between China and Taiwan, Reuters/AFP report.

While acknowledging that the Chinese vessels were “training,” Taiwan’s Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng noted in a statement to the press: ”The timing is quite sensitive, and what [China] is up to we are still studying.”

In any event, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said China’s action “deliberately escalates cross-strait tensions,” Reuters/AFP report. “It is a clear violation of the cross-strait shipping agreement and maritime practice, which will have a serious adverse impact on the normal traffic between the two sides,” the MAC said.

Moreover, the MAC said, China is “obstructing” trade in the Taiwan Strait by inspections of cargo vessels and passenger ships, Reuters/AFP report.

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