TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Thursday (Aug. 18) released video footage reels showing Chinese warships coming close to two Taiwan Navy vessels.
Since U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has held large-scale air and naval exercises around the nation, with Chinese warplanes and warships often crossing the median line and some naval vessels being sighted off the east coast of Taiwan. On Thursday evening, Tsai uploaded a video to her Facebook page showing a Navy vessel monitoring two People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warships at close range, drones and helicopters monitoring the ships' movements, Taiwanese sailors broadcasting radio warnings, and Tsai praising the Navy for showing "unwavering courage and responded with composure."
That evening, Tsai had toured the Su'ao naval base in Yilan County to show her support for the armed forces and to express her gratitude. Tsai said that during this period of elevated activity by the PLA, 12 Taiwanese warships left the port and more than 2,800 troops were dispatched.
In the video, PLAN Type 054A frigates Xuchang (536) and Anyang (599) can be clearly seen from Taiwan Navy vessels. The video also shows what appears to be an Albatross UAV, also known as the Chung Shyang II, taking off and monitoring one of the frigates, before cutting to a Navy S-70C anti-submarine helicopter flying overhead.
According to sources cited by TVBS, the footage of the Xuchang was taken from the Taiwan Navy frigate Yueh Fei (PFG2-1106). The video was believed to have been captured between Aug. 13-15, which was when the PLA launched its "normally organized combat readiness patrols" following the completion of its "military operations" on Aug. 10.
