BEIJING: Chinese authorities said they would carry out a live firing exercise in the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, days after US and Canadian warships passed through the area and following recent military drills by Beijing.

The Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) in the southeastern city of Pingtan announced on Monday that “gun firing” would take place in a limited area close to the Chinese mainland coast and about 105 kilometres from self-ruled Taiwan. China’s Communist Party has never ruled the island, but it claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will not renounce the use of force to bring it under its control.

The MSA’s statement specified that ships will be “prohibited” from entering the area of the live firing, delineated by GPS coordinates and encompassing about 150 square kilometres, for four hours from 9am local time. It did not say which Chinese force would be carrying out the live firing, or its objective. Pingtan is the closest point in mainland China to Taiwan.

Over the weekend, a US and a Canadian warship passed through the 180-kilometre Taiwan Strait, part of regular passages by Washington and its allies meant to reinforce its status as an international waterway — and seen as a provocation by China.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2024