China deploys warplanes and ships in military exercises around Taiwan . “Fighter planes and bombers and other advanced aircraft flew over the Taiwan Strait,” state-run CCTV reported, adding that “ several destroyers and frigates of the Eastern Theater Naval Command” “conducted maneuvers simultaneously .”

And while Taiwanese President William Lai convened the Security Council and issued “pretty clear instructions on how to respond to China’s military threat,” Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said that outlying islands, such as Matsu and Kinmen, which are just miles off the Chinese coast, “are on ‘high alert. ’”

The United States said it was " gravely concerned about the joint military exercises of the People's Liberation Army in the Taiwan Strait and around Taiwan."

In a statement, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Beijing's response "with military provocations to a routine annual speech (by President Lai on October 10) is unjustified and risks escalating."

The call is "to act with restraint and avoid further actions that may undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the region", essential for regional peace and prosperity.

(Unioneonline/vl)

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