China begins massive military drills around Taiwan

China launched unprecedented live-fire military drills in six areas that ring Taiwan on Thursday, a day after a visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as Chinese territory.

The live fire drills began at 12:00 local time and in several areas were due to take place within 12 miles of the island. Taiwan said China was trying to change the status quo in the region.

Pelosi made a brief but controversial visit to Taiwan, which China regards as a breakaway province.

State broadcaster CCTV said: "From 12:00 today to 12:00 [04:00 GMT] on the 7th, the People’s Liberation Army is conducting an important military training exercise and organised live fire.

"During this actual combat exercises, six major areas around the island were selected and during this period all ships and aircraft should not enter the relevant sea areas and airspace.”

The six identified zones surround the island, and occasionally overlap with Taiwanese territorial waters. Some are also very close to key ports and Taiwanese authorities have accused the PLA of effectively conducting a blockade.

“The Eastern Theatre Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army on Thursday conducted large-scale military exercises and training activities including live-fire drills around Taiwan island,” the broadcaster added.

Taiwan’s ministry of defence said its armed forces are “operating as usual” and monitoring surroundings. “We seek no escalation, but we don’t stand down when it comes to our security and sovereignty,” the ministry said.

Taiwan, Japan react

Taiwan said it scrambled jets to warn off Chinese warplanes on Wednesday and its military fired flares to drive away unidentified aircraft over the Kinmen islands, located close to the mainland.

Several ministries have suffered cyber-attacks in recent days, the Taiwanese government said.

Taiwan has also asked ships to take different routes and is negotiating with Japan and the Philippines to find alternative aviation routes.

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has thanked the Group of Seven (G7) nations for supporting regional peace and stability after the group called on China to resolve tensions in the Taiwan Strait in a peaceful manner.

Tsai, in a Twitter post, wrote: "Taiwan is committed to defending the status quo and our hard-earned democracy. We’ll work with like-minded partners to maintain a free & open Indo-Pacific.”

Japan has also expressed concern to China over the areas covered by the military drills, which it says overlaps with its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

In response, Chinese government spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Beijing did not accept the "so-called" Japan EEZ.

Published on: Thursday, August 04, 2022, 10:47 AM IST