Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on Tuesday denounced China’s desire to use its military exercises as a pretext for ” to prepare “an invasion and” alter the status quo in the Asia-Pacific region, reports France info. ” China used the exercises and its military roadmap to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan “, he affirmed during a press conference in Taipei: ” China’s real intention is to alter the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and across the region ».
In turn, the Taiwan army embarked on Tuesday in a live ammunition artillery exercise simulating the defense of the island against Chinese aggression. The drills, with a second scheduled for Thursday, will involve the deployment of several hundred troops and about 40 howitzers, the military said. However, according to Lou Woei-jye, spokesman for Taiwan’s Eighth Army Corps, the Taiwanese drills were already scheduled and would not be held in response to the ongoing Chinese drills, he said on Monday.
China began major military maneuvers around Taiwan on Thursday in response to a visit by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking US official to visit the self-governing island in decades. The end of these military exercises were scheduled for last Sunday noon, but China announced on Monday August 8 its decision to extend them.
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