Taiwan Accuses China Of 'Harassing' Its Airspace And Island's Sovereignty As Pelosi's Visit Angers Xi Jinping

Taiwan's defense ministry said the Chinese military drills around Taiwan have violated United Nations rules and invaded its territorial space amid high tensions as Nancy Pelosi visits Chinese-claimed self-ruled island.

This came after China announced that it would conduct live-fire exercises in the sea and airspace around Taiwan, where it claims sovereignty.

The island nation's defense ministry said it would firmly defend its security, counter any move that violates territorial sovereignty and enhance its alertness level with the principle of not asking for war.

"There were 8 sorties of J-11 aircraft, 10 sorties of J-16 aircraft, and air police- 1 sortie of 500 aircraft, 1 sortie of Yun-9 communication countermeasure aircraft, and 1 sortie of Yun-8 electronic reconnaissance aircraft. The Air Force dispatched air patrol forces to respond, broadcast expulsion, and implemented anti-aircraft missile pursuit monitoring," the defense ministry said, adding that the Chinese planes were harassing its southwest airspace.
See Also: Xi Jinping's Official Mouthpiece Invokes Mao Zedong Amid Nancy Pelosi's Taiwan Visit: 'Will Fight Back If Others Invade Us'

China continues to launch psychological warfare on Taiwan and citizens should not believe in rumors and report any fake news to the government, it added during a press conference, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng "urgently summoned" the US Ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, late Tuesday night, according to Xi Jinping government's flagship newspaper Global Times. It said the government stressed that "the nature of Pelosi's visit is extremely vicious and the consequence is very grave."

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