The sources claimed that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) sent 11 aircraft there on 23 January, and 15 more warplanes to the southwestern zone of Taiwan's air defenses the next day.
Iran Press/ Asia: The sources claimed that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) sent 11 aircraft there on 23 January, and 15 more warplanes to the southwestern zone of Taiwan's air defenses the next day.
The warplanes reportedly included bombers and fighter jets that conducted a drill that used a US aircraft carrier strike group in the same area as a simulated target.
Last Sunday, the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) announced that "the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG) had entered the South China Sea on 23 January to conduct routine operations".
Washington has routinely been sending its warships to the South China Sea, whose waters are disputed by five states but which are mostly controlled by Beijing.
The Sunday drills came a few weeks after China rejected Taiwan's latest offer of talks, accusing Taipei of seeking confrontation with Beijing amid the island's drive for independence.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement earlier this month that since 2016, the island's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) "has continued to provoke by seeking independence, confronting the mainland at every turn, and deliberately creating confrontation across the Taiwan Strait".
The statement came hours after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen stressed that Taipei is ready to conduct "meaningful" talks with Beijing on an equal basis.
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