China sent 71 warplanes near Taiwan on Saturday as the country kicked off three days of military drills and ¡°combat readiness patrols¡± around the self-ruled island, just days after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen incurred Beijing¡¯s wrath for meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The Chinese People¡¯s Liberation Army¡¯s Eastern Theater Command, which oversees operations in the East China Sea including the Taiwan Strait, said in a short statement that the ¡°Joint Sword¡± drills and combat patrols were being held in the waters and airspace to the north, south and east of Taiwan and would conclude on Monday.
¡°This is a serious warning against the ¡®Taiwan independence¡¯ separatist forces¡¯ collusion and provocation with external forces, and it is a necessary action to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,¡± Eastern Theater spokesman Senior Col. Shi Yi said.
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