Published11 August 2022, 05:31
AsiaTaiwan conducts military drills once more
The Taiwan authorities have minimized the scope of these exercises, ensuring that they were already scheduled and were not a response to those of China.
Taiwan had already conducted a military exercise on Tuesday in Pingtung. (illustrative image)
AFP
Taiwan’s military conducted another live ammunition exercise on Thursday following Beijing ended its largest-ever military drill around the island.
Taiwanese forces fired howitzers and flares as part of the defense drill, 8th Corps spokesman Lou Woei-jye told AFP. These maneuvers in Pingtung County (south), started at 8:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. Swiss time), lasted an hour, he added.
Artillery pieces
A live broadcast showed artillery pieces lined up on the coast and soldiers, divided into units, firing one following another howitzers out to sea. Taiwan had already conducted a military exercise on Tuesday in Pingtung. Hundreds of men attended both sessions, according to the military.
The authorities have minimized the scope of these exercises, ensuring that they were already scheduled and were not a response to those of China. Beijing erupted following a visit to Taiwan last week by U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, launching multi-day air and sea drills around the island.
Taipei has accused China of using Nancy Pelosi’s visit as an excuse to practice an invasion. “We have two objectives in the exercises, the first is to ensure the good condition of the artillery and its good maintenance and the second is to confirm the results of last year”, explained Lou Woei-jye, in reference to military exercises in 2021.
“Preparing for War”
Beijing announced the end of its maneuvers on Wednesday, saying its forces had “carried out various tasks” in the Taiwan Strait while promising to continue patrolling its waters. But in the same statement, China assured that it “will continue to conduct military training and prepare for war”.
At the same time, the Chinese Office of Taiwanese Affairs declared in a white paper on Wednesday that Beijing does not “renounce the use of force” once morest its neighbor and reserved “the possibility of taking all necessary measures”.
“We are willing to create a broad space (of cooperation) in order to achieve peaceful reunification,” the document said. “But we will leave no room for separatist actions aimed at pseudo-independence for Taiwan.”
(AFP)
