Guwahati: The Peopleโs Liberation Army of China has begun military exercises including live firing along the waterways and airspace surrounding the island nation of Taiwan, as reported by the Chinese state television on Thursday.
The 4-day military exercises which began at 12:00 p.m. (0400 GMT) on Thursdays set to end at 12:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Sunday. The military exercises involve โtraining activities including live-fire drillsโ, reported the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
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It needs to be mentioned here that, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan on Tuesday on a trip she said shows an unwavering American commitment to the Chinese-claimed self-ruled island of Taiwan. Pelosi pledged solidarity and hailed Taiwanโs democracy and said that the US will not abandon its commitment to the island nation of Taiwan.
China had condemned this visit as a threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
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Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian earlier on Monday said, โIt would be a gross interference in Chinaโs internal affairs if Pelosi visits Taiwan, and warned that it would lead to very serious developments and consequences. The Chinese Peopleโs Liberation Army will never sit idly by, and China will take resolute responses and strong countermeasures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrityโ.
Following Pelosiโs visit to Taiwan, Beijing in retaliation has responded by starting its largest-ever military exercises which involve 4-days of training activities including- live-fire artillery drills, encircling Taiwan since Thursday.
The Taiwan defence ministry in a statement on Thursday said, โOur military will continue to reinforce its alertness level and will react appropriately to the enemy situation. Taiwanโs military is closely monitoring the situation in the Taiwan Strait and near Taiwanโs outlying islands and all of its troops are carrying out daily training as usualโ.
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Taiwanโs ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said that โChina is conducting drills on the busiest international waterways and aviation routes and that is irresponsible, illegitimate behaviourโ.
Meanwhile, the Group of Seven (G7) has condemned the announced military drills, saying โthere is no justification to use of a visit as the pretext for aggressive military activity in the Taiwan Straitโ.
Beijingโs all-weather โfriendโ Pakistan has expressed its support for the One-China policy. Pakistanโs foreign office on Wednesday in a statement said, โPakistan is deeply concerned over the evolving situation in the Taiwan Strait, which has serious implications for regional peace and stabilityโ.