The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning takes part in exercises near Taiwan – World

BEIJING, October 14. /TASS/. The aircraft carrier Liaoning is taking part in the Chinese Joint Sword-2024B exercise near Taiwan, said Captain Li Xi, spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

“On October 14, the Eastern Theater Command deployed the Liaoning aircraft carrier group (to control the airspace in the East China Sea) over Taiwan Island,” he noted.

The exercises are aimed at coordinating the activities of ship and air crews, ensuring joint air control and attacking ground targets from the sea. Special attention is paid to testing integrated communications systems and the joint combat capabilities of multiple services.

China’s Joint Sword-2024B exercise, which started at 5 a.m. Beijing time (9 p.m. GMT on Sunday) near Taiwan, includes the blockade of key ports and areas.

The exercises are a response to Taiwanese head of government Lai Ching-te’s statement on October 10 that Taipei would defend its ‘state sovereignty’. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning then reiterated that Taiwan was part of China and would never become an independent country.

Taiwan has been governed by a local government since 1949, when the remaining Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to the island after defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Beijing considers the island one of its provinces.