Taipei [Taiwan], June 7: Taiwan on June 6 accused China of raising tensions in the region with a "provocative" military patrol involving fighter jets and warships near the island, according to Reuters.
Taiwan's Defense Ministry announced that starting mid-afternoon today, June 6, the agency detected 21 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighters, operating with warships to conduct "so-called joint combat readiness patrols" and "harass our surrounding airspace and waters," according to Reuters.
Taiwan's Defense Ministry said that "these actions are highly provocative, causing anxiety and threat to the region, and blatantly undermining the status quo in the region."
Taiwan's Defense Ministry regularly reports on Chinese "combat patrols," but usually does not attach such accusations to its statements.
China's Defense Ministry has not commented on the statements, according to Reuters.
The patrol came a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump spoke by phone. During the call, Xi told Trump that the US must "handle the Taiwan issue cautiously," according to a transcript of the call from the Chinese government, Reuters reported.
Taiwan's leader Lai Ching-te has said that only the Taiwanese people can decide their future and the Taiwanese government is determined to increase defense spending and strengthen its defense forces.
Lai is scheduled to attend a Taiwan Coast Guard exercise in Kaohsiung on June 8. Taiwan Coast Guard vessels will be deployed in the event of a conflict with China, according to Reuters.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper