The Taiwanese government says it does not fear China and its army carries out live-fire drills

Taiwan conducts defensive military drills ahead of continuing Chinese manoeuvres

Tensions continue to escalate around the island of Taiwan and in the Pacific in general, the game board where the United States and China are now vying for supremacy. The People's Republic of China's military once again staged new military exercises around Taiwanese territory following the largest military manoeuvres in the area, including a mock attack on Taiwan with the launching of missiles that flew over the island for the first time. 

Taiwan continues to be under threat from China, which considers the island its own territory despite its autonomous character and democratic institutions. The fear of a Chinese invasion of Taiwanese territory remains, especially given the current scenario marked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has opened up a dangerous scenario of forceful action against another sovereign state. 

Against this backdrop, Taipei has indicated that it is not afraid, as Foreign Minister Joseph Wu Zhaoxie reaffirmed in statements made to CNN, and announced military tests with live fire for land and sea defence against a possible attack by the Chinese giant. All this in response to China's announcement that it would continue its military exercises for the sixth consecutive day after they began on Thursday and were due to end on Sunday, with anti-submarine and maritime assault operations; all in response to the visit by Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, to Taiwan as part of her Asian tour, which also took her to South Korea and Japan. 

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The heavy artillery tests announced by Taiwan are being carried out at the Fenggang training range in the south, according to the CNA news agency, as reported by EFE. The aim is to practise defensive combat training in the face of a possible maritime advance by the Chinese enemy. 

In this line, the Taiwanese army gave details of its drills that will take place this Tuesday and Thursday in the southern tip of the Pingtung area. The drills, which were already scheduled before the current crisis, will use live fire to simulate the island's defence against an alleged Chinese invasion, according to a military spokesman. Several hundred soldiers and some 40 howitzers will be deployed for the exercises, according to the same source, as reported by La Vanguardia. Before the Chinese military exercises ended on Sunday, ten Chinese and Taiwanese warships manoeuvred at close range and Chinese state television announced that the Chinese army will carry out "regular" tests on the demarcation line separating the two countries' territorial waters in the Taiwan Strait.

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Taiwan's Foreign Ministry singled out Beijing for deliberately provoking a crisis with its new military actions and sent a message of confidence and fearlessness. "In the face of China's military intimidation, Taiwan will neither fear nor retreat, and will defend its sovereignty, national security and free and democratic way of life more firmly," the Foreign Ministry said in an official statement. 

The Western bloc has criticised China's stance, which has decided to deploy its military might around Taiwan and also to cut diplomatic relations with the United States, even in terms of cooperation on environmental protection, something that Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, described as "disproportionate". The big trigger was Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, many years after the last visit to Taipei by a high-ranking US official. China considered this an intolerable development and unleashed military manoeuvres around Taiwan. The Taiwanese authorities see this as an excuse on the part of the Chinese giant to tighten the noose and show its military might, and even go as far as a possible invasion of the island. Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu Zhaoxie told the media that this was "an unreasonable provocation" and that Pelosi's trip "is just an excuse for China".

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The Taiwanese diplomat urged nations that "love freedom and democracy" to stand together in the face of "China's actions against Taiwan". "China has always been threatening Taiwan for years and the threat is becoming more serious in recent years," Wu said, as also reported by EFE news agency. "Whether President Pelosi visits Taiwan or not, the Chinese military threat against Taiwan has always been there and that is the fact that we have to deal with," the Taiwanese Foreign Minister remarked in a statement made to CNN.

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