Chinese Taipei reports 2 Russian warships in its vicinity
The US-backed Chinese Taipei has reported detecting two Russian warships passing in the vicinity of the self-ruled island, adding that it deployed surveillance ships and aircraft to monitor their movements.
Taiwan's Defense Ministry declared in a statement late Tuesday that the Russian warships had been seen “sailing from south to north in the waters off our eastern coast” as of 11 pm local time (15:00 GMT).
It added that they “departed from our response zone” in a southeasterly direction off the port city of Suao, where there is a naval base.
Earlier in the day, Russian media reported that a detachment of ships from Moscow's Pacific Fleet had entered the southern parts of the Philippine Sea after “crossing the South China Sea.”
Russian warships have conducted routine maritime exercises, including “a simulated naval battle to repel a missile attack of a simulated enemy from the sea” during long-range sea crossings, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported.Taipei did not specify how far the warships were from the island’s coastline.
Russian warships passing near the island is rare, though Chinese vessels and aircraft pass through the area regularly.
The development came as Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea have joined Washington in imposing US-led sanctions against Russia over Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine.
This is while the US military routinely deploys warships and warplanes to the South China Sea to assert what it claims as its “right” to “freedom of navigation” in the the region.
China, however, is strongly opposed to US military presence in the region and often acts to drive US warships approaching its territorial waters.
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