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

BEIJING, July 23 - China began two days of live-fire drills from Thursday in some parts of the Taiwan Strait near the shores of its southeastern province of Fujian.The news comes a day after talks between U.S. 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 6.00 a.m. to 6 p.m. (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. REUTERS