Taiwan military began live live-fire artillery drills simulating a defence of the island after days of massive Chinese air and naval exercises it started in protest against US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-ruled territory.
The spokesman for Taiwan’s Eighth Army Corps, Lou Woei-jye confirmed that the artillery drills had been initiated in the southern county of Pingtung soon after 0040 GMT.
According to the media report, 20 navy vessels from China and Taiwan were locked in a “standoff” in the Taiwan Strait, with some of the Chinese vessels trying to “press” into the middle line of the strait, which serves as the de facto maritime border between the two countries.
China launched the biggest-ever war battle around Taiwan last week in a wrath response to a visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
On Monday, People’s Liberation Army, China confirmed that they are going to extend the drills, focusing on anti-submarine and sea assault operations. Tensions between Taiwan and China turned intense when Beijing sent at least 66 aircraft and 14 warships to conduct exercises near the border regions of Taipei.
Foreign Minister Joseph Wu in Taipei, capital of Taiwan, charged that China was exploiting Pelosi’s visit as justification to get ready to invade the island.
