China deploys nearly 90 ships, Taiwan raises alarm level?

Taiwan raised its alert level today, December 9, saying that China had established seven "reserved" airspace zones and deployed many naval and coast guard ships, according to Reuters.

Taiwan's Defense Ministry said today that China has established seven "temporary reserved airspace zones" in the eastern provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang, and the establishment of those zones will take effect from December 9-11, according to Reuters.

Such airspace is reserved temporarily for a specific user for a certain period of time, although other flights can fly over it with the controller's permission, according to international rules, Reuters reported.

This photo released by the Taiwan Coast Guard on December 9 shows a Chinese coast guard vessel (center) passing Taiwanese coast guard vessels (left and right) in waters east of Taiwan.

In addition, a senior Taiwanese security official told Reuters today that there were nearly 90 Chinese naval and coast guard vessels present in waters near Taiwan, of which about two-thirds were naval vessels.

The Taiwanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said that the scale of the deployment of Chinese naval and coast guard ships was larger than two major exercises around Taiwan conducted by China earlier this year.

Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it had activated "combat readiness drills" at strategic locations and that naval and coast guard vessels were closely monitoring Chinese military activities, according to Reuters.

There is currently no information on the reaction of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense to the above statements and actions of Taiwan.

Meanwhile, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said today that the country will "resolutely defend" its sovereignty and assert that Taiwan is an "inviolable" part of Chinese territory, according to AFP.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/trung-quoc-trien-khai-gan-90-tau-dai-loan-nang-muc-bao-dong-185241209150511814.htm