Beijing to Washington: Our army will firmly defend its territorial integrity

SANAA, Oct. 15 (YPA) – China said Thursday that the United States is seriously undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait after a US Navy destroyer sailed into the waters amid escalating tensions between Beijing and Taipei.

Senior colonel Zhang Chunhui, spokesman of the People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command, said on Thursday, in a statement, that  the Chinese military followed and monitored the USs Barry when the destroyer made what the US Navy described as a “routine crossing across the Taiwan Strait” on Wednesday, according to China International Television (CGTN).

Zhang said the United States should stop its provocative words and actions in the Taiwan Strait, adding that the Chinese military will resolutely defend the country’s territorial integrity and maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

On Wednesday, the United States announced that a US destroyer had crossed the Taiwan Strait on a “routine mission”,

The US 7th Fleet spokeswoman Captain Ryan Momsen said the guided missile destroyer USS Barry carried out a routine mission in the Taiwan Strait on October 14, in accordance with international law.”

“The ship’s crossing of the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the commitment of the United States to the free and open Indian and Pacific Ocean region,” she said in a statement.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called on his Marines to focus on preparing for war during a visit to a military base in southern China.

Xi’s call for combat readiness came as tensions have escalated in the past few months between China and democratically ruled Taiwan, which Beijing considers a territory that can be restored by force if necessary.

E.M