China expands military drills, escalates threats against Taiwan
Christian Shepherd - 2h ago
China has announced additional live-fire drills in the Bohai and Yellow Seas, as Beijing broadcasts its fury over a visit to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) with military exercises near the island.
China’s Ministry of Defense did not announce the purpose of the expanded exercises, which come as the visit frayed U.S.-China relations, but they come as Beijing is putting on its greatest show of force around Taiwan since the last cross-strait crisis of 1995 to 1996 — in what it calls a warning to “provocateurs” who challenge Beijing’s claims over Taiwan, the self-governing democracy of 23 million.
China’s Maritime Safety Administration on Saturday announced five exclusion zones in the Yellow Sea where exercises would take place from Aug. 5 to 15, as well as an additional four zones in the Bohai Sea where a month of unspecified Chinese military operations would take place from Aug 8.
Although China officially seeks what it calls “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan — which has never been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party — it also consistently threatens to take the island by force if the government in Taipei declares formal independence.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/china-expands-military-drills-escalates-threats-against-taiwan/ar-AA10ozW3?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=022e0fb9212d46d19e4721c4d7b31ce8
