World War III fears after Chinese warplanes fly off near Taiwan border as tensions boil over

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi is expected to land in Taiwan's capital, Taipei, later today amid of what Washington calls the Chinese "saber rattles" during the visit Chinese warplanes flew near Taiwan's maritime border (stock image) (

Image: Rex)

Chinese warplanes took off near Taiwan's maritime border ahead of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's scheduled landing in Taipei later in the day.

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China has repeatedly warned against Pelosi's departure to Taiwan, which it claims to be its own, and the United States said on Monday it would not be intimidated by "saber-cutting". " Chinese during the visit.

But this morning, clips recorded in Xiamen, a coastal city facing Taiwan, show trains carrying military equipment, warships and armored trucks lining the roads.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that "collusion between the United States and Taiwan happened first" and that the United States ignored repeated warnings.

He added that the countermeasures taken by Beijing will be "legitimate and necessary".

This comes as the US Navy has deployed four warships to the Taiwan Strait.

In addition to Chinese planes flying near the centerline of the sensitive waterway on Tuesday morning, several Chinese warships had remained near the unofficial boundary line since Monday.

Taiwanese soldiers during an amphibious landing exercise as part of military exercises on July 28 (

Picture:

REUTERS)

Chinese warships and planes “pressed” the median line on Tuesday morning, an unusual move the person described as “very provocative.”

The person said that the Chinese aircraft repeatedly made short tactical movements "to...