Beijing condemns the passage of two US and British warships through the Taiwan Strait.

Arabian Sea Newspaper - Special

Arabian Sea_AFP: Beijing condemned the passage of two American and British warships through the Taiwan Strait on Friday, shortly after announcing that one of its aircraft carriers had crossed the strait. Chinese military spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command, Colonel Shi Yi, said, "On September 12, the American destroyer Higgins and the British frigate Richmond transited the Taiwan Strait, stirring up trouble," describing the matter as a "provocation." He added in a statement issued on Friday that the Chinese army "assigned naval and air forces to track and monitor their passage." He affirmed that these actions "undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait." China considers Taiwan part of its territory, vowing to recover it, even by force, and affirms its sovereignty over the strait that separates the self-governing island from mainland China, which is considered one of the world's busiest waterways. In contrast, the United States, Britain, and many countries consider the strait international waters open to navigation. Beijing announced on Friday that the "Fujian," its newest aircraft carrier, had crossed the Taiwan Strait to conduct "scientific research tests and training missions" in the South China Sea. Beijing has intensified its military, economic, and diplomatic pressure on Taipei in recent years. The Taiwanese army refers almost daily to the monitoring of Chinese warships around the island's waters and sorties of drones and warplanes. The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday in a statement that it had detected 13 Chinese warships around the island's territory, the largest number since May. It also detected 31 Chinese warplanes in the Taiwanese air defense identification zone, including 25 that crossed the "median line," which Taipei considers a dividing line between mainland China and the island, while Beijing does not recognize it.