Taiwan Accuses China of ‘Provocative’ Action With Fighter Jets
Taiwan Accuses China of `Provocative' Action With Fighter Jets
(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan on Sunday accused China of provocation after it said two Chinese fighter jets crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait that divides the sides.
“It was an intentional, reckless & provocative action,” the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Twitter. “We’ve informed regional partners & condemn #China for such behavior.”
There was no reported public response from China.
The latest spat comes as U.S. administration officials are said to have given tacit approval to Taiwan’s request to buy more than 60 Lockheed Martin Corp. F-16s, according to people familiar with the matter.
The potential sale is among several gestures of U.S. support for Taiwan in recent months, even as President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping try to finalize a deal to end their costly trade war.
The U.S. also sailed a warship through the Taiwan Strait and accommodated President Tsai Ing-wen’s stopover in Hawaii in March, drawing protests from China, which denounced the moves as “extremely dangerous.”
--With assistance from Iain Marlow and Samson Ellis.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Niquette in Columbus at mniquette@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, Shamim Adam, Ros Krasny
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