OAN Geraldyn Berry
UPDATED 12:29 PM PT – Monday, December 26, 2022
China has sent 71 planes and seven ships to patrol Taiwan in response to the United States’ new defense legislation.
Taiwanese officials reported the activities and claimed that this happened “within the last 24 hours.”
According to a statement from the Chinese Army’s Eastern Theatre Command Senior Colonel Shi Yi, the country’s military engaged in “joint combat readiness patrols and joint firepower strike drills” around Taiwan.
Shi Yi attested that the drills were a “resolute response to the current escalation of collusion and provocation from the United States and Taiwan.”
“The theater troops will take all necessary measures to resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Shi Yi also stated.
For some period of time, China has claimed Taiwan as its territory. The Taiwan Strait, the dividing line between the two Asian nations, was traversed by more than half of the Chinese aircraft.
Last week, President Joe Biden had signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law. In the $858 billion defense authorization bill, Taiwan will receive $10 billion in military support until 2027, while Ukraine will receive $800 million in security assistance as part of its ongoing struggle with Russia, which is just across the border.
In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” back in September, Biden stated that American military would protect the democratically ruled island of Taiwan “if there was an unprecedented attack.”
General Chiang Kai-Shek created the Republic of China on the island in 1949 after moving his Nationalist Party, the Kuomintang (KMT), there. From then on, Taiwan has been regarded by the People’s Republic of China as its ideological rival. The self-governing island serves as an irksome reminder that not all Chinese people are committed to unification under the control of the Communist Party.
Chinese government official Liu Xiaoming made a statement through a series of tweets about China’s recent activity.
The “One-China” policy of the United States is something that the Biden administration has long supported. The U.S. rejects any efforts to use force to alter the island’s self-government and democracy, as stated in the policy.
“Taiwan makes their own judgments about their independence, we’re not encouraging their being independent,” Biden said.
Back in August, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) visited the island, making her the first high-ranking U.S. official to visit the country in 25 years. As a result of this event, the Chinese military held live-fire drills near the island.
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