Taiwan Carries Out Artillery Firing Drills Amid Chinese Military War Games

Topline

Taiwan’s military carried out artillery firing drills in its southernmost region on Tuesday in response to China’s unprecedented live fire exercises around the island which had been scheduled to end Sunday but have now been extended.

Taiwanese soldiers fire artillery during a live-fire drill in Pingtung.

Getty Images

Key Facts

Taiwan’s exercises, which are significantly smaller in scale compared to China’s focussed on firing howitzer artillery guns into the sea from its southernmost county Pingtung.

In a statement, the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command said its joint exercises will continue around Taiwan’s sea and airspace and will focus on “joint blockade and joint support.”

Beijing is yet to mention a new end date for its ongoing exercises around the self-ruled island after Sunday’s deadline was extended without a new end date.

Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu called out China’s actions in a press conference on Tuesday alleging that the intentions behind the exercises are to “alter the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and the entire region” and turn the entire area into its own “internal water.”

Wu warned that China will try to make such exercises routine to shake up the long established status quo between itself and Taiwan.

Crucial Quote

In a press conference at the Pentagon on Monday, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said Washington’s assessment that China will not try to militarily seize control of Taiwan in the next two year has not changed. He said: “The crisis, you know, across the Strait is essentially a manufactured one by Beijing…Clearly the PRC [China] is trying to coerce Taiwan, clearly they’re trying to coerce the international community, and all I’ll say is we’re not going to take the bait and it’s not going to work.”

Big Number

39. That is the number of Chinese military aircraft detected around Taiwan by its military forces on Monday, the island’s Ministry of National Defense tweeted. Thirteen Chinese Navy vessels were also spotted.

Key Background

China began its military exercises surrounding Taiwan last week after a U.S. Congressional delegation led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island and met with its leaders. As part of the drills China carried out the test launch of ballistic missiles across the Taiwan Strait—including some of which flew over the island. China regards the self-governing democracy as its own territory in a decades-long standoff over diplomatic ties and talks and threats around reunification. There are some fears in Washington that China’s drills could slowly morph into a months-long blockade of the island which could also break global supply chains for microchips and electronics . Despite this Kahl said that the U.S. Navy will carry out Taiwan Strait transits “in the coming weeks” and continue its “ freedom of navigation operations elsewhere in the region.”

What To Watch For

Aside from the artillery firing drills, Taiwan’s military plans to conduct its annual exercise on September 5. The annual war game will be much larger in scale and involve attack helicopters, artillery and armored vehicles.