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

BEIJING - China began two days of live-fire drills from July 23 in some parts of the Taiwan Strait near the shores of its south-eastern 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 6am to 6pm 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 US unveiled a record US$11.1 billion (S$14.2 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. REUTERS