China sends warships, flies fighter jets near Taiwan after leader's US trip

China sent warships and dozens of fighter jets toward Taiwan on Saturday the Taiwanese government said in retaliation for a meeting between the US House of Representatives speaker and the president of the selfruled island democracy claimed by Beijing as part of its territoryThe Chinese military announced the start of threeday combat readiness patrols as a warning to Taiwanese who want to make the islands de facto independence permanentThe Peoples Liberation Army gave no indication whether they might include a repeat of previous exercises with missiles fired into the sea which disrupted shipping and airline flightsSpeaker Kevin McCarthy held talks with President Tsai Ingwen on Thursday in California adding to a series of foreign lawmakers who have met Tsai to show support in the face of Chinese intimidation Beijing responded Friday by imposing a travel ban and financial sanctions against American groups and individuals associated with Tsais US visitOn Saturday eight warships and 42 planes were detected near Taiwan 29 of which crossed the middle line of the strait that separates the island from the mainland the islands Ministry of Defense said The planes included Chengdu J10 Shenyang J11 and Shenyang J16 jet fighters it saidAlso read Reagan library sanctioned by China over Tsairsquos US tripTaiwan split with China after a civil war in 1949 The ruling Communist Party says the island is obliged to rejoin the mainland by force if necessary Beijing says contact with foreign officials encourages Taiwanese who want formal independence a step the ruling party says would lead to warThis is a serious warning against the collusion and provocation between the Taiwan independence separatist forces and external forces said a PLA statement The Joint Sword exercises are a necessary action to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrityThe Taiwanese military said missile defense systems were activated and air and sea patrols sent to track the Chinese aircraft We condemn such an irrational act that has jeopardized regional security and stability a Ministry of Defense statement saidChinese President Xi Jinpings government has stepped up efforts to intimidate the island by flying fighter jets and bombers nearby and firing missiles into the seaThe United States has no official relations with Taiwans government but maintains extensive informal and commercial ties Washington is required by federal law to ensure the island of 22 million people has the means to defend itself if China attacksTaiwan and the mainland have multibilliondollar ties of trade and investment but no official relationsWe will never leave room for Taiwan independence separatist activities in any form and will definitely take resolute measures to defeat any foreign interference said a spokesperson for the Cabinets Taiwan Affairs Office Zhu Fenglian according to the official Xinhua News AgencyComplete reunification of our country must be realized and it can without doubt be realized Zhu was quoted as saying FridayThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever