World News | China uses provocation as an excuse to conduct “strike drills” in the sea and airspace around Taiwan

Beijing [China]Dec 26 (ANI): China held a “strike drill” in Taiwan’s airspace on Sunday, saying it was in response to provocations from the self-governing island and the United States, Al Jazeera reported.

The Chinese Army’s Eastern Theater Command said in a brief statement that it conducted “joint combat readiness patrols and joint fire strike drills” around Taiwan. No exact location was specified.

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“This is a firm response to the current US-Taiwan collusion and escalation of provocation,” it said, adding that theater troops will take all necessary measures, Al Jazeera reported, to resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In response to the situation, Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory, said Sunday’s drills showed Beijing’s assault on regional peace and an attempt to intimidate the people of Taiwan, Al Jazeera reported.

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“The CCP’s ‘military intimidation’ is clearly aimed at intimidating our people and is not conducive to [China’s] international image,” Al Jazeera reported, citing a statement from Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense. It further added that Taiwan will continue to strengthen its military.

Pelosi’s visit, the highest-level US visit to Taiwan in more than two decades, angered China, with the communist country warning the US would “pay a price”.

The trip to Taiwan by the Speaker of the US House of Representatives has not only heightened US-China tensions, but has also led to an escalation of tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

Pelosi is the first House speaker to come to Taiwan in 25 years since Newt Gingrich in 1997.

China claims Taiwan as its territory, opposes any contact between Taiwanese officials and foreign governments, announced multiple military exercises around the island, issued a series of harsh statements, and even summoned the US ambassador to Beijing, Nicholas Burns, to protest Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)