Taiwan said on Tuesday it spotted two Russian warships off its east coast on Tuesday. The warships sailed toward the southeasterly direction where there is a Taiwanese naval base.
In a report by Reuters news agency, Taiwan sent its own aircraft and ships to keep a watch and activated shore-based missile system, the defence ministry said.
“Two frigates sailed in a northerly direction off Taiwan’s east coast and then departed from our response zone in a southeasterly direction off the port city of Suao, which is home to a major Taiwanese naval base,” Taiwan defence ministry informed Reuters news agency.
Yesterday a detachment of ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet had entered the southern parts of the Philippine Sea to perform tasks as part of a long-range sea passage.
Taiwan backed the US and its allies in enacting wide-ranging sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
Democratically governed Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has over the past three years regularly reported Chinese navy ships and air force aircraft operating around the island as Beijing seeks to press its teritorial claim.
This week, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu said that China’s threat against Taiwan is much more serious than what is visible. He warned China tha the world that any attempt by Beijing to change the status quo by force will have severe consequences for the world including on the supply of semiconductors.
The Taiwanese foreign minister said the time has come for all democratic countries to find ways to deal with China’s expansionist agenda and its military muscle flexing, especially in the maritime domain.
India and countries across the world depend heavily on the semiconductors produced in Taiwan. Wu said Taiwan supplies 90% of the advanced chips required across the globe.
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Updated: 28 Jun 2023, 06:52 AM IST