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China calls military exercises near Taiwan 'combat drills'

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BEIJING China described its military exercises near Taiwan as "combat drills" yesterday, upping the ante as senior former US officials arrived in Taipei to signal President Joe Biden's commitment to Taiwan and its democracy.

Twenty-five Chinese aircraft, including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers, entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone on Monday, the largest incursion reported by Taipei to date.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman said: "The People's Liberation Army's organising of actual combat exercises in the Taiwan Strait is a necessary action to address the current security situation in the Taiwan Strait and to safeguard national sovereignty."

"It is a solemn response to external forces' interference, and provocations by Taiwan independence forces."

Former US Senator Chris Dodd and former deputy secretaries of state, Mr Richard Armitage and Mr James Steinberg, arrived in Taiwan yesterday in an unmarked private jet, in what a White House official called a "personal signal" of the president's commitment to Taiwan and its democracy.

- REUTERS

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