The Chinese army began exercises with live ammunition firing near Taiwan on Tuesday, October 22, maintaining its pressure on the island, with the Taiwanese authorities indicating that they are closely monitoring these maneuvers which they described as «menace» for regional stability.
Beijing held large-scale maneuvers in mid-October with a record number of military planes and ships around Taiwan, while Chinese President Xi Jinping appealed to troops to prepare for war. On Monday, the Chinese Maritime Safety Administration in Pingtan, a town in China’s Fujian province (east), announced live ammunition firing for four hours, starting at 9:00 a.m. local time (01:00 GMT) in an area of approximately 150 square kilometers. Pingtan is the closest place in mainland China to Taiwan. The area where the shooting will take place is located around a hundred kilometers from the island. The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration in Pingtan did not specify who was to carry out the shots, or their objective.
“Intimidation tactics”
In response to these exercises, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense indicated on Tuesday that it was closely monitoring the “military activities and intentions” of China. Taipei said these exercises could be part of “Beijing’s tactics to reinforce its intimidation” in the Taiwan Strait. Prime Minister Cho Jung-tai described them as a “threat that undermines regional peace and stability”.
Over the weekend, a U.S. warship and another Canadian crossed the 180-kilometer-wide Taiwan Strait, part of regular passages by Washington and its allies to boost its status as an international waterway. Beijing condemned this passage, saying it disrupted “peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”.
The mid-October exercises, called Joint Sword-2024B (“United Sharp Swords-2024B”) with fighter planes, drones, warships and coast guards, took place in areas located in north, south and east of Taiwan. Xi Jinping last week called on troops to strengthen their war preparedness during a visit by the army’s Missile Force, state media reported Saturday.
