China says Taiwan "inalienable part" of its territory as two US vessels sail across Taiwan Strait

Beijing [China] February 13 (ANI): Following the recent transit of two US ships through the Taiwan Strait, Beijing reiterated its position on Taiwan, emphasised that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory and stated that it "opposes any country challenging or threatening China's sovereignty and security under the pretext of freedom of navigation."

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During a regular press conference on Wednesday, Guo Jiakun, Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said, "Let me stress that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. The Taiwan question has nothing to do with freedom of navigation but bears on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

He added, "China firmly opposes any country challenging or threatening China's sovereignty and security under the pretext of freedom of navigation."

In a post on X on Wednesday, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) had said that two US naval vessels sailed through the Taiwan Strait from north to south on February 10.

It wrote, "Two U.S. naval vessels sailed through the Taiwan Strait from north to south starting on the 10th. During this period, #ROCArmedForces maintained full control over the surrounding sea and airspace, with the situation remaining normal."

Two U.S. naval vessels sailed through the Taiwan Strait from north to south starting on the 10th. During this period, #ROCArmedForces maintained full control over the surrounding sea and airspace, with the situation remaining normal.

— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) February 12, 2025

Meanwhile, Taiwan on Thursday detected six sorties of People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, eight People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels, and one official ship operating around the island as of 6 am (UTC+8).

According to MND, four of the six aircraft sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

In a post on X, MND wrote, "6 sorties of PLA aircraft, 8 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today."

It added, "4 out of 6 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly."

In recent weeks, China has visibly increased its capacity to conduct amphibious assaults on Taiwan's beaches with new naval equipment. This includes the formal launch of a unique advanced landing helicopter assault (LHA) vessel and the mass production of floating bridge docks to aid ship unloading during beach landings.

The Taiwan-China conflict remained a longstanding geopolitical issue centred on Taiwan's sovereignty. While Taiwan functioned as a de facto independent state with its own government, military, and economy, Beijing considered it a breakaway province under the "One China" policy.

Since the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949), when the Republic of China government retreated to Taiwan, China had used diplomatic, economic, and military measures to pressure Taiwan, which continued to assert its independence with strong domestic support. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)