China Conducts Live-Fire Military Exercises South of Taiwan

(Bloomberg) -- China announced naval and aerial live-fire military exercises in areas south of Taiwan Tuesday, without saying how close to the democratically ruled island the drills were.

Combat ships, anti-submarine aircrafts and fighter jets were among the forces that joined the exercises “to test integrated operational capability” in territory southwest and southeast of Taiwan, Shi Yi, spokesperson of the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, said in a statement.

Shi described the drill as a “necessary activity in response to the recent situation in the Taiwan Strait,” adding that the repeated collusion between the U.S. and Taiwan had become “the largest source of trouble” for the security and stability in the area.

The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said in a text message that it had “full control of the latest activity and situation in Taiwan Strait and neighboring air and sea space” and was ready to respond accordingly.

Earlier this month, the Biden administration approved its first arms sale to Taiwan, a potential $750 million deal that included 40 new M109 self-propelled howitzers and almost 1,700 kits to convert projectiles into more precise GPS-guided munitions.

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With assistance from Bloomberg