Taipei: Taiwan will begin two days of missile live-firing tests on Monday ahead of its biggest annual military exercise as the island steps up preparations against an increasingly assertive China.
The 23 million Taiwanese people live under constant threat of invasion by Beijing, which sees the self-governing democracy as part of its territory that will one day be seized.
missile firing Relations between Taipei and Beijing have become increasingly tense in southern Pingtung County, with China conducting two major military drills around the island in the past year.
The latest was in April, when Beijing launched targeted strikes on Taiwan and laid siege to the island. State media also reported an “air blockade” exercise by dozens of aircraft.
those war games were the answer to the president tsai ing-wenEarlier that month a meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy followed.
Monday’s and Tuesday’s missile tests come against a backdrop of air and naval maneuvers by and around Beijing Taiwan Strait – A 180-kilometre-wide (122 mi-wide) passageway between the island and mainland China.
Last month, eight Chinese warplanes approached Taiwan’s contiguous territory – or the band of sea within 24 nautical miles (44 kilometers) of its coast.
In May, China’s Shandong aircraft carrier group passed through the Taiwan Strait in a rare voyage.
Relations in the diplomatic field have not been better. Since the election of Tsai – who rejects China’s claim on Taiwan – Beijing has refused to talk to her government.
Last week, Taiwan’s immigration department announced it had rejected an application from Chinese tourism officials to let them visit the island for an international travel fair in mid-July.
Citing the “overall cross-strait situation”, the immigration agency said there were doubts about the “necessity, urgency and irrelevance” of the Chinese tourism authorities’ involvement. Only visas for tourism operators from China were accepted.
The 23 million Taiwanese people live under constant threat of invasion by Beijing, which sees the self-governing democracy as part of its territory that will one day be seized.
missile firing Relations between Taipei and Beijing have become increasingly tense in southern Pingtung County, with China conducting two major military drills around the island in the past year.
The latest was in April, when Beijing launched targeted strikes on Taiwan and laid siege to the island. State media also reported an “air blockade” exercise by dozens of aircraft.
those war games were the answer to the president tsai ing-wenEarlier that month a meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy followed.
Monday’s and Tuesday’s missile tests come against a backdrop of air and naval maneuvers by and around Beijing Taiwan Strait – A 180-kilometre-wide (122 mi-wide) passageway between the island and mainland China.
Last month, eight Chinese warplanes approached Taiwan’s contiguous territory – or the band of sea within 24 nautical miles (44 kilometers) of its coast.
In May, China’s Shandong aircraft carrier group passed through the Taiwan Strait in a rare voyage.
Relations in the diplomatic field have not been better. Since the election of Tsai – who rejects China’s claim on Taiwan – Beijing has refused to talk to her government.
Last week, Taiwan’s immigration department announced it had rejected an application from Chinese tourism officials to let them visit the island for an international travel fair in mid-July.
Citing the “overall cross-strait situation”, the immigration agency said there were doubts about the “necessity, urgency and irrelevance” of the Chinese tourism authorities’ involvement. Only visas for tourism operators from China were accepted.