Taiwan accuses China of exaggerating, tricks over video of Penghu islands

Taiwan accused China of exaggeration and tricks on Tuesday August 16 after the Chinese military published footage of the strategically located Penghu islands where there is a major Taiwanese air base.

China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, has carried out military exercises around the island this month after visiting the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was followed by five US lawmakers on Sunday and Monday.

The People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command, the Chinese military unit that is responsible for the area adjacent to Taiwan, released a video of the Penghu islands, apparently taken by a Chinese air force aircraft close by.

Taiwan Air Force vice- chief of staff for operations Tung Pei-lun told reporters in Taipei that this was Chinese information warfare, though he said he had no comment on who had taken the video.

Tung said that China used the exaggerated tricks of cognitive warfare to show how close it was to Penghu.

Taiwan's defence ministry showed on Monday that the closest Chinese aircraft to Penghu was four J- 16 fighters in an update of Chinese air force activity near Taiwan.

The fighters crossed the Taiwan Strait median line - normally an unofficial barrier between the two sides - but stayed closer to the Chinese coast than Penghu, the map showed.