[ODUNEWS] August 4 – Tension around self-ruled Taiwan soared to unprecedented levels on Thursday after the Chinese military fired ballistic missiles on the waters around it amid intense live-fire exercises as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) encircled the island from six directions, blocking it from the sea as well as air.
The Chinese military did not share details but reports from Taiwan said among the missiles fired were PLA’s nuclear-capable Dongfeng.
The PLA’s drills, ongoing from Tuesday night, intensified on Thursday noon as Beijing continues to fume over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei earlier this week.
China claims the democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to merge it with the mainland.
A Chinese media report said the ongoing drills, the largest ever around the Taiwan Strait, are part of a “rehearsal” for the reunification process.
Reports from Taiwan said its armed forces had gone on full alert and had upgraded their combat readiness.
The Taiwanese military closely monitored the path of the Dongfeng missiles soon after they were fired by the PLA’s eastern command’s rocket division.
China’s state broadcaster CCTV announced the start of the drills on Thursday, adding that the exercises would end at 0400 GMT on Sunday.
The exercise, led by the navy and air force, would include live firing on the waters and in the airspace surrounding Taiwan, the CCTV report said.
