China to carry out live firing operation in Taiwan Strait

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-kms from Taiwan.

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 9:00 am local time (0100 GMT).

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-kms 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.

Beijing sent a record number of military aircraft as well as warships and coast guard vessels to encircle Taiwan on October 14 in the fourth round of major drills in just over two years in the area.

Taiwan deployed “appropriate forces” and put outlying islands on heightened alert in response to the exercises, which Beijing said were a “stern warning to the separatist acts of ´Taiwan Independence´ forces”. Beijing has ramped up military pressure on Taipei in recent years, deploying on a near-daily basis warplanes and other military aircraft as well as ships around the island.