China begins 2 days of live-fire drills in Taiwan Strait

BANNER. The Chinese flag during the 2025 World Aquatics Championships. Edgar Su/REUTERS The news comes a day after talks between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of an ASEAN meeting in Manila BEIJING, China – China began two days of live-fire drills from Thursday, July 23, in some parts of the Taiwan Strait near the shores of its southeastern province of Fujian. The news comes a day after talks between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on a range of issues, including democratically-governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory. The drills will run from 6 am to 6 pm (2200 GMT to 1000 GMT) each day around Dongshan Island, bordering the province of Guangdong, maritime authorities said in a notice. China held its most extensive war games encircling Taiwan in December, after the United States unveiled a record $11.1 billion arms package for the island, whose government rejects China’s sovereignty claim. During 10 hours of live-fire exercises at the time, China’s Eastern Theatre Command launched rockets into waters north and south of Taiwan. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading