Taiwan adds minelaying to defenses against China

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan has commissioned new navy minelayers to add to its defenses against giant rival China. President Tsai Ing-wen presided over a ceremony commissioning the navy’s First and Second Mining Operations Squadrons. The ships are able to automatically sow large numbers of small but powerful mines without the need for divers. Such technologies are part of a strategy to deter any possible invasion from China, with its huge army and vast superiority in numbers of warplanes, ships and other weaponry. China claims Taiwan as its own territory, and has stepped up its threat to bring it under its control by force if necessary with frequent military exercises and by dispatching fighter jets and other planes to fly near the island.