The Pingtan Maritime Bureau of Fujian Province, China, issued a navigation warning on the night of the 29th, saying, “On the 30th, live ammunition shooting training will be conducted at four points in the waters near Pingtan Island from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm on the 30th. “he said.
The training zone is 126km away from Hsinchu County in northern Taiwan, and is the closest point to Taiwan.
In this regard, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said, “We are closely monitoring the dynamics of Chinese aircraft and warships in the airspace surrounding the Taiwan Strait by mobilizing joint intelligence monitoring and reconnaissance means,” the Taiwan Central News Agency reported.
The exercise came amid strong protests from China over the possibility of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
Earlier, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) for five consecutive days from the 25th to the 29th, when the Taiwanese military’s annual military exercise, Han Gwang, was held in preparation for a Chinese invasion.
At a regular briefing on the 29th, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhao Lijian said, “China has repeatedly expressed to the United States its position that it strongly opposes Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and is deeply concerned.” “The United States must fully bear it,” he warned.
On the 28th, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a phone call with US President Joe Biden, “We resolutely oppose Taiwan’s independence, division, and interference from outside forces.”
Chairman Pelosi said at a press conference on the afternoon of the 29th that he would “never say for security reasons” about whether a visit to Taiwan was included in his Asia tour.
/yunhap news