TAIWAN TENSIONS – Taiwan begins live-fire defense drill after Chinese maneuvers

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Taiwan’s army began live-fire maneuvers Tuesday to test its defensive capacity against a possible Chinese invasion, the same day Beijing extended military exercises for a sixth consecutive day around the island that began last week.

The annual heavy artillery tests Taiwan announced are being conducted at the Fenggang training camp, state news agency CNA reported.

The training area, which spans a kilometer of coastline in Fenggang, simulates the defensive combat mode in which Taiwanese forces would seek to block an enemy advance at sea.

The exercise area does not “overlap at all” with the one used in the previous days by the People’s Liberation Army, said Lou Weijie, director of War Policy in the Taiwan army.

The crisis between Taiwan and China comes from the visit to the island last week by United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Beijing had said it would take serious reprisals if she made the trip.

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