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Could China’s massive war games be a new normal for Taiwan?
- The PLA could be setting a precedent with its massive military drills around the island, observers say
- Beijing has sent missiles, planes and warships across a long-standing line separating the mainland from Taiwan
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Taiwan will face unprecedented challenges to its future if large-scale war games mounted by Beijing to squeeze the self-ruled island become a new normal, according to analysts.
The People’s Liberation Army has embarked on several days of military exercises encircling Taiwan in response to a whirlwind trip to the island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week.
The war games are expected to continue until Sunday and are being staged in six areas, encircling Taiwan from north to south and from east to west and featuring repeated breaches of the median line in the Taiwan Strait.
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The median line separates mainland China and Taiwan and was drawn by the US in 1955, with Washington pressuring both sides to abide by an unspoken agreement not to cross it.
Those drills could become a new normal, analysts said, with the PLA continuing to cross the line in future exercises.
02:46
Mainland China launches largest military drill in the Taiwan Strait after Pelosi’s visit
Mainland China launches largest military drill in the Taiwan Strait after Pelosi’s visit
Since Wednesday, when Pelosi was still in Taiwan, more than 60 PLA warplanes have briefly crossed the line.
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