After Washington’s announcement to provide Taiwan with surface-to-air missile systems worth more than $1 billion, Beijing’s response was swift. The next day, about twenty fighter jets and drones were deployed as part of a “joint combat readiness patrol” around Taiwan, Taiwanese authorities said.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it spotted 19 Chinese aircraft on Sunday, including fighter jets and drones, near the island for nearly four hours, as part of Beijing’s “joint combat readiness patrol” with warships. . This is the third patrol of this type reported by the Ministry of Defense in October.
China on Saturday night condemned the sale to Taiwan of US missile systems approved by Washington on Friday, denouncing an action that “seriously damages Sino-US relations” and “endangers peace” in the region.
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The sale of surface-to-air missile systems to Taiwan “seriously violates China’s sovereignty and security interests, seriously damages China-U.S. relations, and endangers cross-strait peace and stability,” said the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release published on Saturday. evening. The document specifies that Beijing could take “all necessary measures to firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.”
The $1.16 billion transaction, which still must be validated by Congress, includes several anti-aircraft systems, including NASAMS and 123 missiles, according to the US agency responsible for the sale of military material to the unknown person. Another sale announced on Friday concerns radar systems for a total amount of $828 million. The equipment will be sourced directly from US Air Force stocks.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry on Saturday expressed its “sincere gratitude” for the sale, which could help the military “continue to improve its defense capability and jointly maintain cross-strait peace and stability.”
The United States does not recognize Taiwan as a state and considers the People’s Republic of China the only legitimate government, but still provides Taipei with significant military aid. Beijing regularly opposes US support for Taiwan and accuses Washington of meddling in its affairs.
China considers Taiwan a part of its territory that it has not yet been able to reunify with the rest, since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. If it says it is in favor of “peaceful reunification”, it has never renounced the use of military force and periodically sends warships and fighter planes around the island.
In mid-October, Taiwan detected a record number of 153 Chinese aircraft in a single day near the island after a day of Chinese military maneuvers. A month earlier, Beijing had sanctioned American defense companies, in retaliation for Washington’s approval of the sale of military equipment to Taiwan.
Source: BFM TV
