A spokesman clarified that these operations were programmed and not in response to ongoing Chinese maneuvers.
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Posted on 8/9/2022 9:18 AM Updated on 8/9/2022 9:34 AM
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The Taiwan Army conducted a live ammunition artillery drill on Tuesday, August 9, simulating the island’s defenses against a Chinese invasion. The maneuvers took place in Pingtung County and lasted just under an hour. The army said several hundred soldiers were deployed, along with around forty howitzers. A new exercise is planned for Thursday. A spokesman clarified that these operations were programmed and not in response to ongoing Chinese maneuvers.
Beijing has been conducting its largest military air and sea operations around Taiwan for the past week in response to American-elect Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island. China “used the exercises and its military roadmap to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan,” the head of Taiwanese diplomacy accused at a press conference in Taipei on Tuesday.
“China’s real intention is to disrupt the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and across the region,” he added, a disinformation campaign and economic coercion to weaken public morale in Taiwan. Beijing believes the 23rd Million Island is one of its provinces that has failed to reunite with the rest of its territory since 1949.