PLA says it will stay on ‘high alert’ after Dutch warship crosses Taiwan Strait

The PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command said on social media that in less than two weeks, the shipborne helicopter of the Dutch frigate De Ruyter had “illegally intruded into the airspace over China’s Xisha [the Chinese name for the Paracel Islands] and then the frigate transited the Taiwan Strait”. Senior Colonel Xu Chenghua, a spokesman for the theatre command, said the military “would stay on high alert at all times and resolutely safeguard China’s sovereignty and security, as well as regional peace and stability”. He added that naval and air forces “handled the situation effectively”, without giving details. The post included…