China holds live-fire drills on island closest to Taiwan

The drills were held for more than four hours in Niushan, an island 105km from Taiwan.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsUS ElectionSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifyUS ElectionElection pollsKamala HarrisDonald TrumpJD VanceTim WalzSportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsUS ElectionSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersChina holds live-fire drills on island closest to TaiwanEPAChina has held several major military drills off the coast of Taiwan since 2022 but the operations have intensified in the past yearChina held a live-firing exercise from its territory closest to Taiwan one week after it launched a large-scale drill encircling the island.

Chinese military drills off the Taiwanese coast have intensified in recent years as its claims over the self-governed island have grown.

Beijing announced late on Monday that an area around Niushan - an island 105km (66 miles) from Taiwan - will be closed for drills for four hours from 09:00 local time (01:00 GMT) on Tuesday.

Taiwan's premier Cho Jung-tai said on Tuesday that China should not be conducting such exercises given their threat to regional stability.

"No matter how large the scale of the drill is, they should not be frequent and close to Taiwan," he told reporters. "This will only cause unnecessary tension."

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3rlrv1qewqo

---