China Launches Naval And Air Drills Targeting Taiwan

Guided missile destroyer USS Barry on Friday conducts what the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet called a “routine Taiwan Strait transit”. Photo: US Navy/ Handout 

SCMP: China launches naval and air drills as US warship transits Taiwan Strait 

* PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command slams repeated ‘provocative actions’, as USS Barry marks ninth transit of Taiwan Strait by American warships this year 

* Taiwan plans to spend US$8.7 billion over the next five years on domestically produced arms, including missiles capable of striking mainland China 

Beijing held a military drill targeting Taiwan and described the United States as the “biggest troublemaker” in the region as a US destroyer sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Friday in the ninth such passage by American warships this year. 

The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Barry conducted a “routine Taiwan Strait transit” on Friday, a statement from the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said.

“The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific”, it said, adding that the US military “flies, sails, and operates anywhere international law allows”. 

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WNU Editor: These Chinese naval and air drills are becoming a regular occurrence.