INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Taiwan sighted two Russian frigates sailing off its eastern coast on Tuesday and deployed surveillance ships and aircraft to monitor their
our eastern coast" as of 11 p.m
local time (15:00 GMT), it said in a statement on Tuesday.Taiwan's military monitored their movements and "dispatched aircraft, ships and
[activated] shore-based missile systems to keep watch," it added.The ministry did not say how far the warships were from Taiwan's
coast.Self-ruled Taiwan reports a near-daily presence of Chinese vessels near its waters
China claims the island as its territory and has vowed to take it one day, by force if necessary.The presence of Russian warships is
unusual, however.Russian state news agency Interfax reported on Tuesday that Russia's "detachment of Pacific Fleet warships entered the
Philippine Sea after crossing the South China Sea."The warships were performing tasks as part of a long-range sea crossing, which included
