PLA naval soldiers send Lantern Festival greetings to Taiwan warship

The naval soldiers of People's Liberation Army, who were conducting a combat readiness patrol mission in the waters around Taiwan on Wednesday, sent Lantern Festival greetings to a nearby Taiwan warship, according to a report aired by China Media Group on Wednesday.

From Chinese New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival, a 16-day period, frontline forces of the PLA Eastern Theater Command have maintained a state of combat readiness at all times, frequently dispatching naval and air forces to conduct combat readiness patrols and training missions around Taiwan island, the report said.

On the Lantern Festival, which falls on Wednesday, the CNS Huaibei, on a combat readiness patrol mission in the waters around Taiwan, organized a live-fire confrontation exercise.

In the report, Li Zhaodong, a soldier of the CNS Huaibei, said: "While carrying out combat readiness patrol missions, we always maintain a state of full readiness ... The weapon systems are also in a launch-ready state, ready to be fired at any time."

In the video footage of the report, a soldier from the CNS Huaibei was seen calling the warship Yi Yang from Taiwan through a communication channel.

The soldier said: "The Lantern Festival is a traditional festival for Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. On this festive occasion, we wish you and your families a happy Lantern Festival."

The report also noted that at an Eastern Theater Command Air Force station, multiple batches of J-10C fighter jets took off to conduct patrol missions in the airspace around Taiwan.

Around midnight, several H-6K bombers took off successively to carry out day-and-night flight missions.