Chinese military set for live-fire drills amid rising tensions over Taiwan

The exercise in the East China Sea comes as US Health Secretary Alex Azar prepares to visit the island

Azar is the most senior US official to visit Taiwan since 1979, when Washington formally switched diplomatic recognition

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Two drills will be held to the north of Taiwan over the next two weeks. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 8:00pm, 7 Aug 2020Updated: 11:04pm, 7 Aug 2020

China will conduct live-fire drills in the East China Sea in next two weeks amid rising tensions over a high-level US visit to Taiwan.

Two live-fire military exercises will be held near Zhoushan, an archipelago some 550km (340 miles) north of Taiwan. A three-day drill will start on Tuesday, followed by a two-day drill starting on August 16, according to a notice released by the China Maritime Safety Administration on Thursday.

The drills will take place every day between 6am and noon. Other vessels are prohibited from entering the designated area during the exercises.

Both China and the United States have stepped up military activities in recent months, with the People’s Liberation Army conducting a series air force drills near Taiwan while the US Navy regularly conducts operations in the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan concluded its own annual live-fire military exercise last month, which President Tsai Ing-wen described as a sign of the island’s determination to defend itself.

Beijing regards Taiwan as a breakaway province that must eventually be reunified with the mainland – by force if necessary.