This photo taken on July 21, 2019 from Xiangshan Mountain shows the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
The People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command resolutely opposed the United States' decision to send its warship through the Taiwan Straits on Tuesday, saying such an operation deliberately undermined peace and stability in the region.
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On Tuesday, guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson conducted a transit through the Taiwan Straits, according to the US Navy. Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman of the theater command, said in a statement on Wednesday that the PLA had dispatched forces to follow and monitor the voyage.
Shi said the US has routinely carried out such acts of provocation to send the wrong signal to Taiwan separatist forces. These actions have "deliberately undermined peace and stability of the Taiwan Straits. We firmly oppose it," he said.
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The theater command will maintain high alert and adamantly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, he added.