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The live-fire drills were being held near the Pingtan islands,
according to a notice from the Maritime Safety Administration.
It warned ships to avoid the area. It did not offer additional
details.
Taiwan's Defense Ministry said China's drills were part of an
annual exercise and it was tracking them.
“It cannot be ruled out that it is one of the ways to expand the
deterrent effect in line with the dynamics in the Taiwan
Strait,” the statement added.
Taiwan is a self-ruled island that Beijing claims is part of
China. Tensions around the issue have flared in recent years.
China has increased its presence in the waters and skies around
Taiwan. It now increasingly sends large numbers of warplanes and
navy vessels to military exercises near Taiwan, and its coast
guard carries out patrols.
Last week, China held a one-day military exercise aimed at
practicing the “sealing off of key ports and key areas.” Taiwan
counted a record one-day total of 153 aircraft, 14 navy vessels
and 12 Chinese government ships.
Taiwan's premier, Cho Jung-tai, called on China to stop its
exercises aimed at Taiwan.
“Like all democratic countries in the world, we believe that
China’s military exercises are a threat to regional peace and
stability. Regardless of the scale of the exercise, China’s
military exercises should not frequently approach Taiwan to make
meaningless declarations," he said.
In response to Chinese moves, the U.S. has continued what it
calls “freedom of navigation” transits through the Taiwan
Strait. On Sunday, the destroyer USS Higgins and the Canadian
frigate HMCS Vancouver transited the narrow band of ocean that
separates China and Taiwan.
Germany sent two warships through the Taiwan Strait last month
as it seeks to increase its defense engagement in the
Asia-Pacific region.
China has also exerted diplomatic pressure on Taiwan, poaching
its allies. South Africa, which does not recognize Taiwan as a
country, asked the island last week to move its liaison office
outside the capital, Pretoria, as a concession to China. Taiwan
on Monday said it would fight the request.
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AP senior video producer Johnson Lai contributed to this report.
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