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China’s PLA launches simulated precision strikes on Taiwan as ‘Joint Sword’ drills enter second day
- Mainland forces make dozens of flights and passages across the median line in the Taiwan Strait and into the island’s air defence zone
- Drills come after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen defied Beijing’s warnings against meeting US House speaker in California
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The People’s Liberation Army simulated precision strikes against key targets on and around Taiwan on Sunday, the second day of “combat readiness” exercises near the self-ruled island, mainland Chinese state media reported.
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“Multiple armed services conducted simulated joint precision strikes against key targets on Taiwan and nearby waters to maintain a posture that encircles and closes in on the island,” state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The exercise, called “Joint Sword”, is being conducted by troops from the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command, which oversees the Taiwan Strait.
The PLA announced the three-day exercise as Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a 10-day overseas trip that included a meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.
Tsai met McCarthy during her transit stop on Wednesday – the first time a sitting Taiwanese president and the speaker of the US House of Representatives have met on US territory since Washington broke official ties with Taipei in 1979 and recognised Beijing as the sole government of China.
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Beijing had repeatedly warned against such a meeting and vowed to take “resolute and powerful measures” if it went ahead.
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