TAIPEI CITY (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Chinese state media reports Chinese military exercises around the main island of Taiwan have begun.
State-run television station CCTV reported at noon local time:
The People’s Liberation Army is carrying out a significant military training exercise with organised live fire from 12:00 today to 12:00 [0400 GMT] on the 7th.
Six key regions surrounding the island were chosen for this actual military practice, and during this time, all aircrafts and ships should avoid the key sea areas and airspace.
The island is surrounded by the six identified zones, which occasionally cross Taiwanese territorial seas. Additionally, some are quite close to important ports, and Taiwanese officials have charged the PLA with in effect waging a blockade—a very serious charge.
The broadcaster said, “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command on Thursday carried out extensive military drills and exercises, including live-fire drills near Taiwan island.
According to Taiwan’s ministry of defence, its armed forces are “working as usual” and keeping an eye on the environment. The ministry stated that they weren’t looking for any escalation, but they didn’t stand down when it came to their security and sovereignty.
China’s missiles were fired close to Matsu, the defence ministry of Taiwan confirmed
Those claims of missiles being fired close to Matsu appear to have been verified by Taiwan’s defence ministry. It was recently reported in a statement that the PLA had fired several missiles from the Dongfeng series into the waters northeast and southwest of Taiwan’s main island.
The PLA had earlier announced to have launched long-range “precision strikes” into the Taiwan Strait at 1pm, and social media was flooded with footage purporting of projectiles allegedly launched from behind a beautiful Chinese beach in Pingtan. The footage has not been independently authenticated by us.
Wang Yi, the foreign minister of China, is in Phnom Penh, Cambodia to attend a meeting with Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) group conference.
According to Reuters, China’s foreign ministry has announced that Wang has cancelled a scheduled bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, as another sign of escalating tensions.
At 2:00 p.m. local time, China launched two missiles toward the Matsu Islands, which are located off the coast of Taiwan.
An internal Taiwan security report seen by Reuters and corroborated by a security source said they were observed moving toward the #2 and #3 drill zones that China had previously indicated.
A brief summary of what is known so far
- After China’s military started an unprecedented four days of live-fire drills close to Taiwan’s shores on Thursday in response to Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island, Taiwan’s military declared that it is preparing for war without wanting war.
- The start of a “major military training exercise and organised live fire” involving missile testing was announced by the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV at noon local time.
- Six regions encircling Taiwan were mentioned in the notices of the exercises, and all ships and aircraft were advised to steer clear of those areas. A few of the zones border Taiwan’s territorial seas and are located close to important shipping ports. Taiwan’s defence minister claims that China is essentially enforcing a blockade.
- Some ten Chinese naval ships, according to a Taiwanese official, momentarily violated the median line, the unofficial boundary between Chinese and Taiwanese territorial waters, before being “driven away” by Taiwanese navy vessels. They said that “they crept in and were chased away by us.”
- Additionally, Taiwan said that numerous Chinese air force aircraft repeatedly and briefly violated the median line on Thursday morning, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets and launch missile systems to follow their progress.
- Unconfirmed footage appears to show real missile launches from China toward Taiwan. A number of small projectiles were seen by AFP journalists on the border island of Pingtan as they flew into the sky, followed by white smoke plumes and loud booms.
- Ships are advised to stay clear of the active zones, according to Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau. The Taiwanese cabinet said that the drills would affect 18 international routes that pass through its flight information region (FIR).
