Taiwan Strait on the boil as US, Beijing and Taipei put military on high alert
- Taiwan media reports armed forces ordered to be combat ready in case of cross-strait threats from the Chinese PLA
- Beijing announces military training in South China Sea, declares area off limits
The China Maritime Safety Administration announced military training in South China Sea waters from Tuesday to Saturday, with entry to the area prohibited. Meanwhile, live-fire drills that started in the northern Bohai Sea on Monday will continue until Thursday.
Reports also suggested that Chinese aircraft carriers the Liaoning and Shandong had left their home ports in eastern and southern provinces, and pictures circulating on social media showed troops gathering in the southeastern coastal city of Xiamen, just 5.5km west of Taipei-controlled Quemoy island, also called Kinmen.
Xiamen resident and seafood restaurant owner Chen Jinhuo, 50, said he had seen a few dozen military vehicles of various types roll into the city and head towards its main ring road since Sunday.
Chen also said he saw “about a hundred” armoured vehicles parked on the main ring road when he drove by on Monday.
Huang Bo, 45, a cafeteria owner, said he saw a crane called in on Monday to tow away an armoured infantry vehicle that had suffered a breakdown.
However, even though a lot of the military assets reportedly seen in Xiamen seem to be real fighting vehicles, those will not take on a major role in case of a military assault on Taiwan, Hong Kong-based military commentator Leung Kwok-leung said.
“The display of tanks and some long-range rockets is surely a warning signal, but the real things that are not shown are the missiles, military planes and landing craft, which are still kept at classified locations. Those are likely to feature in the first round of strikes,” Leung said.