China puts on show of naval force ahead of Nancy Pelosi’s possible Taiwan visit

Beijing announces a live-fire exercise in the Taiwan Strait and releases footage of operations in the South China Sea

A visit to the island by the US House Speaker would enrage Beijing and concern is growing that a miscalculation by any party could raise the risk of conflict

Reading Time:3 minutes

99+

The state broadcaster CCTV aired footage of a live-fire drill involving a destroyer. Photo: CCTV

Published: 10:00pm, 30 Jul 2022

The Chinese military is mounting a show of force ahead of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Asian tour, which could include a visit to Taiwan.

As China hardened its posture, despite growing concern that a miscalculation could increase the risk of conflict, it said it was holding live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait and released footage of a similar exercise in the South China Sea.

The maritime administration in Fujian province said the exercise off the waters of Pingtan would be carried out between 8am and 9pm, adding that all vessels were banned from entering the area.

Pingtan is about 125km (75 miles) from Taiwan’s coast and about 185km from Taipei, its capital.

The exercise was announced on Thursday afternoon – hours before a phone conversation between Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden aimed at reducing tensions – but not widely reported by Chinese media until Friday night.

During the call, their fifth since Biden took the office, Xi told Biden that the US should avoid “playing with fire” over Taiwan.