Reuters
Date: September 16, 2016
By Ben Blanchard and J.R. Wu | BEIJING/TAIPEI
Chinese jets and warships carried out exercises near Taiwan and into the Western
Taiwanese Defence Minister Feng Shih-kuan (R) visits the International Maritime and Defense Industry Exposition in Kaohsiung, Taiwan September 16, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Pacific on Thursday, as the self-ruled island’s defense minister warned of a growing threat from its giant neighbor.
Democratic Taiwan is increasingly concerned over China’s military designs, especially recent rounds of Chinese drills near Taiwan. Beijing has never renounced the use of force to take control of what it deems a wayward province.
China’s official Xinhua news agency said fighters, bombers and early warning aircraft had flown through the Miyako Strait, between the southern Japanese islands of Miyako and Okinawa and to the northeast of Taiwan, and into the Pacific.
They then carried out drills with Chinese warships in the area to improve interoperability between the two services, Xinhua said. [FULL STORY]
