China’s military to hold live-fire drills off Taiwan as US delegation visits the island
- Six-day exercise begins on Thursday, as former American officials are due to meet President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei
- Drills will be conducted near disputed Pratas Islands in what is seen as a ‘declaration of sovereignty’ and warning to foreign nations
The six-day exercise will be carried out to the south of the Penghu archipelago in the Taiwan Strait, the Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration announced on Wednesday.
It has set out a no-go zone for vessels in an area near the islands while the live-fire drills are under way until Tuesday.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, and it has repeatedly warned Washington over its closer ties with Taipei. Tensions have been rising across the Taiwan Strait and in the region, with both China and the US stepping up military activities in disputed waters.
Kang Lin, a research fellow at Hainan University in southern China, said he did not believe the latest drills were specifically prompted by the visiting US delegation, but they were “pointing in that direction”.
“The drills are clearly a declaration of sovereignty, which points to both the claims in the South China Sea as well as to Taiwan. It also acts as a clear warning to foreign countries not to intervene in these two issues,” Kang said.
But military affairs commentator Zhou Chenming said the PLA regularly conducted drills in the region around this time of year since the weather conditions would not be suitable from July to September.
“These drills are usually planned well ahead,” said Zhou, who is based in Beijing. “Every year there are a lot of drills in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait from April to June, but it has become more public now because China has started live-fire exercises, which raises their profile.”
Meanwhile, state broadcaster CCTV aired a report on Tuesday on a recent 36-hour Chinese air force and navy drill focused on “surveillance and warning” training in the Taiwan Strait and East China Sea.
Additional reporting by Laura Zhou