The Chinese military fired unidentified projectiles towards the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, AFP journalists found, shortly following the start of major military exercises all around the island claimed by Beijing.
The Chinese military fired unidentified projectiles towards the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, AFP reporters said, shortly following the start of major military exercises around the island claimed by Beijing. In Pingtan, a Chinese island located near the maneuvers in progress, the reporters saw several projectiles fired at around 1:13 p.m. (0513 GMT) flying in the sky towards the sea, followed by plumes of white smoke.
AFP was unable to identify the projectiles, fired from military installations, or determine their precise direction. Tourists who were by the sea, on this tourist island, witnessed the shooting. The Chinese army began Thursday the largest military maneuvers in its history around Taiwan, a muscular response to the visit of the speaker of the American House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi on the island.
If her trip to this territory claimed by China lasted less than 24 hours, Ms. Pelosi, the highest elected American official to visit Taipei in 25 years, unleashed the fury of Beijing. She hammered that the United States would not abandon the island, ruled by a democratic regime and which lives under the constant threat of an invasion by the Chinese army. In response, Beijing has been conducting extensive military maneuvers since noon Thursday (0400 GMT) and until noon Sunday (0400 GMT) in six areas around Taiwan.