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The recent fly-by of a US maritime plane through the Taiwan Strait, according to China’s military, purposefully disrupted the situation in the region and put peace and stability at peril.
According to a statement from Colonel Shi Yi of the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, the military organised air and ground units to observe the Friday operation of the US aircraft.
He further stated that their troops were still on high alert and that they vehemently opposed American efforts.
A request for response from the American navy was not immediately complied with.
Since the defeated government of the Republic of China retreated to Taiwan in 1949 following a defeat in a civil war with the communists, who founded the People’s Republic of China, the Taiwan Strait has frequently been the scene of military conflict.
China has asserted in the past that it has sovereignty and control over the Taiwan Strait, although Taiwan, the United States, and other countries claim that it is an international waterway.
The latest escalation in tension over the Taiwan Strait was sparked by Taiwan’s announcement on Thursday that it had sent out jets to warn off 22 Chinese aircraft that had entered its air defence zone, marking the second significant invasion this week.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained in recent years about repeated flights by the Chinese air force close to the democratically run island, frequently in the southwestern area of its air defence identification zone, or ADIZ, close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.
