The activity comes as Beijing accuses the US and Canada of “inciting conflict” by sailing through the Taiwan Strait, and as Xi Jinping calls for “comprehensive” military combat readiness of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
The Republic of China military, which uses Taiwan’s formal name, on Monday said a Chinese carrier strike group passed 111km to the south-east of the island on its way to the western Pacific for training.
In recent years the PLA has greatly increased its military targeting of Taiwan, which the Chinese Communist party considers to be a province of China and threatens to “reunify” by force.
The renewed PLA activity immediately followed a freedom of navigation operation (Fonop) by the US and Canadian navies, which sailed two warships through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday.
It warned Washington that there was “a limit to Beijing’s patience” and said the more frequently US and its allies sailed through “China’s waters”, the greater chance there was of a “head-on conflict”.
It also comes a few days after China’s leader, Xi Jinping, inspected a Chinese army base in the north-east and called for “comprehensive” enhancements in combat readiness.
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