UPDATES WITH REACTION FROM CHINA; CHANGES HEADER, DECK, LEDE
By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ISTANBUL (AA) - Taiwan has "no defense ministry," said China on Monday, after Taipei raised a military alert following Beijing's military movements around the island nation.
China's Foreign Ministry said: "Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory and the Taiwan question is a matter of China's internal affairs," state media reported.
Beijing "will firmly defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity," ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing, when she was told that Taiwan's Defense Ministry had detected Chinese People’s Liberation Army's (PLA) vessels, as well as Coast Guard boats.
Taiwan on Monday said it raised the alert level among its combat units after Taipei detected movement by the Chinese military around the island nation.
The Defense Ministry said in a statement that the PLA had set up seven "air reserves zones” around eastern Fujian and Zhejiang provinces for a two-day period ending Wednesday.
It added that the PLA had dispatched naval vessels, as well as coast guard boats, while Taipei initiated “combat readiness drills” and its military units on its outlying islands “heightened their vigilance.”
Beijing has yet to announce whether it plans any military drills.
Earlier, Taiwan had said it detected 10 PLA aircraft, seven navy vessels, and three official ships operating around the island nation.
Taipei was expecting large-scale military drills by China in response to regional leader William Lai Ching-te’s first overseas trip which concluded last Friday.
China considers Taiwan as its "breakaway province" while Taipei insists on its independence since 1949.