China announced live-fire drills in six sea areas and airspace around Taiwan.
Immediately after US House Speaker Pelosi arrived in Taiwan (China), the Chinese Ministry of Defense announced military exercises in six areas around Taiwan island.
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| A screen shows footage of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) ships during an evening news program on August 2, in Beijing. Photo: Reuters |
The Chinese military announced that it would conduct live-fire drills in six sea areas and airspace around Taiwan from August 4 to 7. According to China, these are “important military exercises and training activities.” The country’s military is on high alert, Xinhua news agency reported.
For safety reasons, civil ships and aircraft are prohibited from entering the sea and airspace in the above six areas.
According to experts, this is the largest military exercise around Taiwan in many years.
Meanwhile, Sputnik newspaper quoted the Chinese Ministry of Defense's announcement that the country will carry out a series of military response moves.
Earlier, China's Eastern Command announced it would test-fire a missile carrying a non-nuclear warhead as part of a major military exercise.
After much speculation, the plane carrying Ms. Pelosi landed at Songshan Airport in Taipei City at 10:44 p.m. on August 2 (local time). Her delegation is scheduled to meet with Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen on the morning of August 3./.
