PLA slams US lawmakers for Taiwan visit

The Chinese military has strongly condemned a group of United States congressmen for visiting Taiwan onboard a military transport plane on Tuesday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement released late on Tuesday.

A US C-40 clipper military transport plane carrying US lawmakers made a brief stop in Taipei around 6:17 pm on Tuesday and took off about an hour later, according to local media. The identity and itinerary of these US officials has not been made public as of writing.

Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesman of the ministry, said the US' action has blatantly interfered in China's domestic affairs, and has seriously undermined China's territorial sovereignty and peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits.

"We solemnly urge the US to immediately stop its provocative actions, and stop any disruptive actions that can escalate tension in the region," he said.

Tan said the island's pro-secession Democratic Progressive Party should not misread the situation and take its chances. "It will only bring Taiwan into serious disasters," he added.

"China must and will inevitably be reunified. Nobody can underestimate the Chinese people's strong determination, will and capability in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.

"The People's Liberation Army will remain on high alert, and will take all actions necessary to thwart any ploys by foreign powers and Taiwan secession forces," he added.

Meanwhile, the PLA Eastern Theater Command said in a statement issued late on Tuesday that it has organized a "joint combat readiness patrol" in the direction of the Taiwan Straits on Tuesday to further examine and improve the joint combat capability of its forces.

Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman of the theater command, said this military action is targeted at "gravely erroneous actions and rhetoric" by certain countries and recent secession activities by Taiwan separatist forces.

"It is a necessary measure to safeguard national sovereignty," he said, adding the theater command will take all actions needed to retaliate against any provocative actions that seek to undermine China's core interest, as well as peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits.