Eighth Corps spokesman Lu Wei Jie told AFP that Taiwanese forces fired artillery shells and rockets as part of the defensive drills, adding that the drills in Pingtung County (south) lasted an hour.
And it appeared in a transmission in direct, artillery pieces lined up on the coast and soldiers distributed in units that fire one bullet after another towards the sea.
Taiwan has already conducted military exercises in Pingtung on Tuesday. The military said hundreds of men took part in both round of maneuvers.
The authorities downplayed the importance of these exercises, pointing out that they had been scheduled in precedence and did not constitute a response to Chinese maneuvers.
China got angry after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan last week. In response to the visit, she conducted days of aerial and naval maneuvers around the island.
Taipei accused China of using Pelosi’s visit as an excuse to try an invasion: “We have two objectives for these exercises, the first is to ensure the good state of artillery and it is well maintained, and the second is to confirm the results. than last year, “Lu said, referring to the military exercises that took place in 2021.
Beijing announced the end of its maneuvers on Wednesday, stressing that its forces “have performed various tasks” in the Taiwan Strait and at the same time have pledged to continue to garrison its waters.
But in the same statement, China confirmed that it “will continue to conduct military exercises and prepare for war.”
Meanwhile, the Chinese Taiwan Affairs Bureau said Wednesday in a “white paper” that Beijing does not “abandon the use of force” against its neighbor and reserves “the possibility of taking all necessary measures”.
“We are ready to create a large space (for cooperation) to achieve peaceful reunification. But we will not leave room for separatist actions aimed at achieving false independence for Taiwan,” the document reads.
