In the wake of large-scale military maneuvers near Beijing, the Taiwanese army began, Tuesday, August 9, a live ammunition artillery exercise simulating the defense of the island against an attack by China , noted an AFP journalist on the spot.
Lou Woei-jye, spokesman for Taiwan's Eighth Army Corps, said the Taiwanese drills were already scheduled and were not a response to ongoing Chinese drills.
The exercises began in Pingtung County (south), shortly after 0:40 a.m. GMT (2:40 a.m. in Paris), with flares and artillery fire.
The exercise will end around 1:30 a.m. GMT (3:30 a.m. Paris time), Lou Woei-jye added.
The drills, with a second scheduled for Thursday, will involve the deployment of several hundred troops and about 40 howitzers, the military said.
Regular exercises
The island regularly holds military drills simulating a Chinese invasion and last month trained to repel attacks from the sea in a "joint interception operation", as part of its biggest annual exercises.
China launched its biggest military maneuvers around Taiwan last week in response to a visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking US official to visit the self-governing island in decades.
China considers Taiwan, with a population of around 23 million, to be one of its provinces, which it has yet to successfully reunify with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese Civil War (1949 ).
With AFP
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