The Chinese army began live ammunition firing exercises near Taiwan on Tuesday, October 22, maintaining its pressure on the island. Taiwanese authorities have said they are closely monitoring these maneuvers, calling them « menace » for regional stability.
Beijing held large-scale drills in mid-October, with a record number of military planes and ships around Taiwan, while Chinese President Xi Jinping appealed to troops to prepare for war .
On Monday, the Maritime Safety Administration in Pingtan, a town in Fujian province, announced live ammunition firing for four hours in an area of about 150 square kilometers. Pingtan is the closest place in mainland China to Taiwan, and the shooting zone is about 100 kilometers from the island. The Pingtan Maritime Safety Administration did not specify who was to carry out the shots or their objective.
In response to these exercises, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday that it was closely monitoring the “military activities and intentions” of China. Taipei said these exercises could be part of “Beijing’s tactics to reinforce its intimidation” in the Taiwan Strait. Prime Minister Cho Jung-tai described them as a “threat that undermines regional peace and stability”.
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American and Canadian warships in the Taiwan Strait
Over the weekend, a U.S. warship and another Canadian crossed the 180-kilometer-wide Taiwan Strait, part of regular passages by Washington and its allies to boost its status as an international waterway. Beijing condemned this passage, saying it disrupted “peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”.
The mid-October exercises, called “Joint Sword-2024B” with fighter planes, drones, warships and coast guards, took place in particular in areas located in the north, south and east of Taiwan.
On Saturday, state media reported that Xi Jinping had called on troops this week to strengthen their war preparedness during a visit to the Army’s Missile Force.
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