China starts conducting ‘unprecedented’ military drills near Taiwan

Taiwan officials have said the drills violate United Nations rules, invade Taiwan’s territorial space and are a direct challenge to free air and sea navigation.

Chinese military exercises, involving live-fire, begin Suspected drones fly over outlying Taiwanese islands Taiwan says several government websites hacked China says it’s an internal affair

The day after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-governing island, which Beijing views as its territory, China on Thursday began unprecedented live-fire military drills in six sites surrounding Taiwan.

China’s state television CCTV announced that the drills had started shortly after their scheduled start time of 0400 GMT and that they will stop at 0400 GMT on Sunday. It stated that they would involve live firing over Taiwan’s nearby waters and airspace.

According to a Taiwan security report reviewed by Reuters and confirmed by a Taiwan security source, China launched two missiles near Taiwan’s Matsu islands, which are located off the coast of China, at around 2 p.m. local time (0600 GMT), in the direction of drill zones declared by China.

On Thursday, China, which asserts Taiwan as its own territory and reserves the right to acquire it, said any disagreements with the self-ruled island were an internal matter.

According to China’s Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, “our punishment of pro-Taiwan independence diehards, external forces is justified and lawful.”

According to official broadcaster CCTV, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi described Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan as a “manic, irresponsible, and highly unreasonable” decision by the United States.

At a gathering of foreign ministers from Southeast Asia in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wang stated that China has made every diplomatic effort to prevent a crisis but would never allow its basic interests to be compromised.

In a statement released earlier, the foreign ministers cautioned that the turbulence brought on by the tensions in the Taiwan Strait could result in “miscalculation, significant confrontation, open conflicts, and unforeseeable outcomes among major powers.”

Tags: China, Invasion, Military, Taiwan, United States