A soldier looks through binoculars during combat exercises and training of the navy of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in the waters around the Taiwan Island on Aug 5, 2022. (LIN JIAN / XINHUA)
The People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command mobilized its air and naval forces to monitor the passage of United States and Canadian warships through the Taiwan Straits on Tuesday, the command's spokesman said.
Senior Colonel Shi Yi said the USS Higgins, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer from the US Seventh Fleet's Destroyer Squadron 15, and the HMCS Vancouver, a Halifax-class frigate in the Royal Canadian Navy, transited through the Straits
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Senior Colonel Shi Yi said in a brief statement on Wednesday that the USS Higgins, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer from the US Seventh Fleet's Destroyer Squadron 15, and the HMCS Vancouver, a Halifax-class frigate in the Royal Canadian Navy, transited through the Straits and that the act was sensationalized.
Aircraft and naval ships of the PLA Eastern Theater Command closely monitored the passage and stayed on alert, he said.
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The spokesman said his command is ready to respond to any provocation or threat and will firmly safeguard China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity.