Taiwan denies Chinese strikes as Beijing ups live naval drills
China’s military held live-fire drills on Wednesday in the East China Sea in an escalation of exercises around Taiwan, but Taiwan said none took place nearby.
China’s military held long-range, live-fire drills in the East China Sea on Wednesday in an escalation of exercises around Taiwan, saying it was practicing precision strikes on port and energy facilities, but Taiwan said none took place nearby.
The exercises follow a rise in Chinese rhetoric against Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who China called a “parasite” on Tuesday, and come on the heels of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Asia visit, during which he repeatedly criticized Beijing.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has repeatedly denounced Lai as a “separatist.” Lai, who won election and took office last year, rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.
China’s Eastern Theater Command said that on Wednesday as part of the Strait Thunder-2025A exercise its ground forces had conducted long-range, live-fire drills into the waters of the East China Sea, though it did not give an exact location.
The Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong on Tuesday. Eastern Theatre Command via Reuters“The drills involve precision strikes on simulated targets of key ports and energy facilities, and have achieved desired effects,” it said, without elaborating.
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