PLA plans regular combat patrols around Taiwan

The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army will organize regular combat patrols in the Taiwan region and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity after successfully completing its recent training exercises around Taiwan, Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman of the theater command, said in a statement on Wednesday.

The recent military drills in the seas and airspace around the Taiwan island have achieved their mission objectives and effectively tested the theater command's joint combat capability, he said.

The theater command will keep a close eye on the situation in the Taiwan Straits and continue its military training and war preparation efforts, he added. At the same time, it will organize regular "combat readiness patrols" in the direction of the Taiwan Straits, Shi said.

The command began organizing drills around Taiwan on Aug 2, after United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived on the island.