Compatriots across the Taiwan Strait have the unshirkable duty to jointly safeguard national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, Chen Xi, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense said at a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.
The China Coast Guard (CCG) conducted law enforcement patrols in the relevant waters earlier in June after Japan and the Philippines unilaterally announced the launch of maritime delimitation negotiations in the waters east of China's Taiwan Island.
The CCG's patrols are fully justified and necessary, Chen said in response to media reports that Taiwan's defense affairs authorities described the patrols as "a provocative act" and "cognitive warfare".
"Taiwan is part of China, and China has an exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in waters east of the Taiwan Island. The China Coast Guard's law enforcement patrols are legitimate, necessary, and brook no interference. Both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China and it is the bounden duty of compatriots on both sides to jointly safeguard national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests. But Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authorities not only responded passively [to Japan and the Philippines' provocative actions], but also distorted the facts and acted retrogressively. Such behavior, which betrays its roots, is utterly despicable," Chen said.
Compatriots across Taiwan Strait have duty to safeguard national sovereignty, maritime rights: spokesman
Airbus on Wednesday delivered the first aircraft assembled at its new Final Assembly Line (FAL) for A320 family aircraft in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin, the second of its kind in both China and Asia.
The delivery represents a major milestone in Airbus' industrial footprint expansion in China and across its global industrial system, the company said.
China Eastern Airlines took delivery of the A320neo aircraft. Currently operating the largest Airbus fleet in the Chinese mainland, the airline in 1985 took delivery of an A310, China's first Airbus aircraft.
Last October, the second Final Assembly Line for A320 family aircraft in Tianjin officially commenced production, with both assembly lines running simultaneously. The Tianjin Port has upgraded its unloading capacity and logistics efficiency to receive major components shipped from Europe via sea freight for assembly.
"For oversized and out-of-gauge components such as Airbus fuselages and wings, we developed customized handling plans utilizing specialized lifting frames, slings, and rotatable lifting gear. We also assigned dedicated personnel to closely monitor the quay crane operations, ensuring the Airbus final assembly line maintains a steady production pace and solidifying the maritime logistics support needed to ramp up capacity for the Airbus Tianjin Final Assembly project," said Yu Cheng, deputy manager of the Operations Department of Tianjin Port Pacific International Container Terminal Co., Ltd.
Airbus delivers first aircraft from its new assembly line in China
