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| Taiwan’s prototype MALE UAV (Image: J. Michael Cole for The Diplomat) |
By Shannon Tiezzi
While Taiwan holds its major annual military exercise, China’s PLA will conduct live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait.
China’s military will hold live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday, the government announced. There were no further details given on the drills, only that they would take place off the coast near Quanzhou, a port city in Fujian province directly across the Strait from Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday that it was aware of the upcoming PLA drills. Spokesperson Maj. Gen. Luo Shou-he said that the exercise was a routine part of China’s annual training. Luo said PLA ground forces in the area conduct regular artillery firing drills.
The drills by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will begin on Friday, just as Taiwan’s own military drills come to an end. The annual Han Kuang exercises prepare Taiwan’s military to face an attack from the PLA. The exercises are held in two parts: computer-aided war games and live fire drills. This year, the computer simulations took place in May; the live-fire portion began on September 7 and will conclude on Friday.
Read the full story at The Diplomat