Taipei [Taiwan], December 10 (ANI): Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense reported that it detected seven sorties of Chinese military aircraft and six Chinese naval vessels operating around its territorial waters up to 6 a.m. (local time) on Wednesday.
Of the seven sorties, two crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern and southwestern ADIZ, the MND said on X, adding that the ROC Armed Forces monitored the situation and responded.
Earlier on Tuesday, Taiwan detected eight sorties of Chinese aircraft and six vessels; of those eight sorties, two crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s southwestern ADIZ, the MND said in a separate post.
Separately, a former US defence official from the Biden administration voiced support for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi after her comments suggesting Japan might assist in defending Taiwan, calling Beijing’s reaction “inappropriate,” the Taipei Times reported. Ely Ratner, who served as assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security affairs from 2021 until this year, said Takaichi’s remarks reflected Japan’s official stance.
On November 7, Takaichi said during a parliamentary meeting that a Chinese assault on Taiwan could be seen as “a situation threatening Japan’s survival,” potentially prompting military action. She is thought to be the first Japanese leader in decades to openly suggest that a crisis in the Taiwan Strait could lead to Japanese military involvement.
Her remarks angered China, which has taken retaliatory steps aimed at harming Japan’s economy, including warnings about travel and study in Japan and pausing the resumption of Japanese seafood imports. Xue Jian, the Chinese consul general in Osaka, posted a now-deleted social media comment saying Takaichi should be “decapitated.” (ANI)
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