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Taiwan's Defence Ministry detected 70 Chinese military aircraft and 11 naval ships around Taiwan by 6 am on Monday and its armed forces were monitoring the situation to respond to these activities."70 PLA aircraft and 11 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities," Taiwan's Defence Ministry said in a tweet."35 of the detected aircraft(SU-30*8, J-11*4, J-10*6, J-16*8, TB-001 UCAV, Y-9EW, Y-8 ASW, J-15*4, CH-4 UCAV, KJ-500 AEW & C) had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's southwest and southeast ADIZ, flight paths as illustrated," it added.China entered the third day of the drills, which kickstarted on Saturday (April 8), right after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen returned from the US where she met House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a meeting to which China strictly showed opposition.Al Jazeera
China on Saturday began military exercises around Taiwan to test the capabilities of its forces to "seize control of the sea, air and information," days after a meeting between the US House Speaker and the President of the self-ruled island in defiance of repeated threats by Beijing. China views Taiwan as a breakaway province. Beijing has not ruled out the possible use of force to reunify the self-ruled island with the mainland. The Chinese military announced the start of three-day combat readiness patrols, asserting that it is testing the capabilities of its forces to seize control of the sea, air, and information. The multi-day exercises coincided with the return of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to Taipei after her high-profile visit to the US earlier this week when she met US House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, a move denounced by Beijing. China on Friday slapped sanctions on two American organisations that hosted Tsai besides Asia-based groups --The Prospect Foundation and the .
Chinese health officials defended their search for the source of the COVID-19 virus and lashed out Saturday at the World Health Organisation after its leader said Beijing should have shared genetic information earlier. The WHO comments were offensive and disrespectful," said the director of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shen Hongbing. He accused the WHO of attempting to smear China and said it should avoid helping others "politicize COVID-19. The global health body's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said March 17 that newly disclosed genetic material gathered in Wuhan in central China, where the first cases were detected in late 2019, should have been shared three years ago. As a responsible country and as scientists, we have always actively shared research results with scientists from around the world, Shen said at a news conference. The origins of COVID-19 are still debated and the focus of bitter political dispute. Many scientists believe it