US concerned by 'provocative' Chinese military action near Taiwan: State Dept

The United States on Sunday expressed concern over China's "provocative" military activity near Taiwan. This reaction comes after nearly 60 Chinese warplanes entered its air identification zone (ADIZ) in the last two days of which 20 of them flew in on Saturday alone.

"The United States is very concerned by the People's Republic of China's provocative military activity near Taiwan, which is destabilizing, risks miscalculations, and undermines regional peace and stability. We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure and coercion against Taiwan," the US Department of State said in a statement.

The State Department urged Beijing to end "coercion" against Taiwan, which China sees as its breakaway province. It said that Washington had an abiding interest in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and vowed to stand with its ally.

"We have an abiding interest in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. We will continue to assist Taiwan in maintaining a sufficient self-defense capability, and we will maintain our commitments as outlined in the Three Communiques, the Taiwan Relations Act, and the Six Assurances."

The US commitment to Taiwan is rock solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region, it added.

These latest incursions are said to be the biggest incursions by the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) since Taipei began publicly reporting such activities last year.

The incursions happened as Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan. Taipei has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing.

( With inputs from ANI )

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor