Taiwan said today it has the 'right to self-defence and to counter-attack' after China flew nearly 40 warplanes over the Taiwan Strait in a show of force.
The island's defence ministry said it was facing a 'high frequency of harassment and threat from the enemy's warships and aircraft' amid high tensions between Taipei and Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own renegade territory.
China's People's Liberation Army flew 18 warplanes over the mid-line of the Strait on Friday, followed by another 19 on Saturday, while US envoy Keith Krach was visiting the island.
Beijing also ramped up its rhetoric today by warning the US against helping Taiwan and saying that support for its independence was 'doomed to fail'.
A Chinese air force Yun-8 transport plane flies over Taiwan's Air Defence Identification Zone on Saturday in the second show of military force by Beijing in two days
A map released by Taiwanese officials showing the routes of Chinese PLA (People's Liberation Army) aircraft which crossed into the air defence zone that surrounds the island
Taiwan's air force scrambled their own jets and deployed an air defence missile system after the Chinese warplanes were spotted on Taiwan's side of the line.
The Chinese planes included four bombers as well as fighter jets from the country's Eastern Theatre Command.
Taiwan's defence ministry said today it had 'clearly defined' procedures for the island's first response amid the 'high frequency of harassment and threats'.
It said Taiwan had the right to 'self-defence and to counter attack' and that it followed the guideline of 'no escalation of conflict and no triggering incidents'.
Taiwan would not provoke but is also was 'not afraid of the enemy', it added.
Beijing this month held rare large-scale drills near Taiwan, which Taipei called serious provocation but China said was necessary to protect its sovereignty.
The island is a flashpoint with Washington, which promises military support to the elected government and has sent two envoys to Taipei in as many months.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin described the US envoys' visits as a 'political provocation' and threatened retaliation.
US envoy Keith Krach (at the front of the line, wearing a mask) arrives at the Sungshan airport in Taipei on Thursday
'China will take appropriate countermeasures, including targeting relevant individuals,' said Wang, without elaborating.
He warned that the US actions will 'further damage the cooperation' between the US and China.
Wang added that any support for Taiwan's independence is a 'dead end... doomed to fail'.
Taiwan has been ruled separately from China since the end of a civil war in 1949, but Beijing considers the island part of its territory awaiting reunification.
Beijing rejects any recognition of Taiwan and has mounted a decades-long policy of marginalising the democratic island.
Washington's increased outreach is a catalogue of sore points with Beijing as the countries clash over issues including trade, security and the coronavirus pandemic.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China of 'military blustering'.
Keith Krach, the undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, wrapped up his trip at the weekend following a trip by US health chief Alex Azar in August.
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