LIVE-FIRE EXERCISES
Exercises on Monday will include live-fire drills off the rocky coast of China’s Fujian province, about 80km south of the Matsu islands and 190km from Taipei.
The local maritime authority said the exercises would be held between 7am and 8pm (7am and 8pm, Singapore time) around Pingtan, a southeastern island that is China’s nearest point to Taiwan.
“These operations serve as a stern warning against the collusion between separatist forces seeking ‘Taiwan independence’ and external forces and against their provocative activities,” said Shi Yin, a PLA spokesman, about “Joint Sword”.
AFP journalists on Pingtan did not see any immediate military activity in an offshore area on Monday.
A small number of fishing boats and small cargo ships were near the shore on Monday morning.
It was not possible to discern the identities of some more distant ships, and much of the cordoned-off area was not visible from the shoreline.
Taipei’s defence ministry said it had detected 11 Chinese warships and 70 aircraft around Taiwan on Sunday.
It said 45 aircraft had crossed the median line separating Taiwan from mainland China on Saturday – the most incursions this year, according to figures maintained by AFP.
Over the weekend there were around 150 detections of Chinese ships or aircraft, including fighter jets, drones, bombers, and transport aircraft, according to the ministry.
In August last year, China deployed warships, missiles and fighter jets around Taiwan in its largest show of force in years following a trip to the island by McCarthy’s predecessor, Nancy Pelosi.