Beijing has ended its military maneuvers.

But that does not stop the Taiwanese army, which conducted a new live ammunition exercise on Thursday, August 11.

It fired howitzers and flares as part of the defense exercise, Lou Woei-jye, spokesman for the 8th Army Corps, told AFP.

These maneuvers in the county of Pingtung (south), started at 8:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. in Paris), lasted an hour, he added.

"We have two objectives in the exercises, the first is to ensure the good condition of the artillery and its good maintenance and the second is to confirm the results of last year", explained Lou Woei-jye, in reference to military exercises in 2021.

A live broadcast showed artillery pieces lined up on the coast and soldiers, divided into units, firing one after another howitzers out to sea.

Taiwan had already conducted a military exercise on Tuesday in Pingtung.

Hundreds of men participated in these two sessions, according to the army.

The authorities have minimized the scope of these exercises, ensuring that they were already scheduled and were not a response to those of China.

Beijing does not "renounce the use of force" against its neighbor

Beijing erupted after a visit to Taiwan last week by U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, launching multi-day air and sea drills around the island.

Taipei has accused China of using Nancy Pelosi's visit as an excuse to practice an invasion.

Beijing announced on Wednesday the end of its maneuvers, declaring that its forces had "carried out various tasks" in the Taiwan Strait while promising to continue patrolling its waters.

But, in the same statement, China assured that it "will continue to conduct military training and prepare for war".

At the same time, the Chinese Office of Taiwanese Affairs declared on Wednesday in a white paper that Beijing does not "renounce the use of force" against its neighbor and reserved "the possibility of taking all necessary measures".

"We are willing to create a broad space (of cooperation) in order to achieve peaceful reunification," the document said.

"But we will leave no leeway for separatist actions aimed at pseudo-independence for Taiwan."

With AFP

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