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China sent military planes and naval vessels near Taiwan on Saturday ahead of high-level talks between American and Chinese officials aimed at reducing tensions between the world’s largest superpowers.
Early on Saturday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army sent more than 30 planes and six ships toward Taiwan, according to a statement from the Taiwanese ministry of national defense.
Almost half of those aircraft crossed the midway point of the Taiwan Strait — the unofficial boundary between the mainland and the island.
Taiwan’s military “monitored the situation and tasked appropriate forces to respond,” the country’s ministry of national defense said.
Tensions between Beijing and Taipei have remained high ever since Lai Ching-te won Taiwan’s presidential election early this month with a political campaign focused on pushing back against China’s threats against the island.
This weekend, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is set to meet with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Thailand to discuss ongoing geopolitical insecurity, including attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Middle East.
“China has influence over Tehran; they have influence in Iran. And they have the ability to have conversations with Iranian leaders that — that we can’t,” John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesman, told reporters.
