The Chinese People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater command is conducting a patrol near the Taiwan Strait "in response to secessionist activities." The operation, while the CCP's Sixth Plenum is underway in Beijing, follows "the grave words and wrong actions of the countries interested in the Taiwan issue directed at the separatist forces". The island, Command spokesman Shi Yi said, "is part of Chinese territory." The Defense Ministry recently denounced today's visit to Taipei by a delegation from the US Congress with a military plane.
The operation, Shi added in a note posted on the Command's official WeChat account, aims to "test and further improve common combined combat capabilities", without adding details on the forces and means involved.
A move defined as "necessary" to safeguard the sovereignty of the country, with the reassurance that the forces of the Command "will always maintain a high level of alert and will take all necessary measures to vigorously counter all provocative actions that endanger fundamental interests China and undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait ", defending" national sovereignty and territorial integrity ".