Taiwanese military holds offshore live-fire drill

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) — Taiwan's military held live-fire drills off the island's coast, with the armed forces making the announcement Thursday amid climbing tensions with China.

The drills were held Wednesday night off Penghu County, a group of smaller islands in the Taiwan Strait, as part of a monthly exercise by the military, Focus Taiwan News reported.

According to the Taiwanese military, the Penghu Defense Command deployed tanks and artillery systems from 10 p.m. local time (1400GMT) until midnight (1600GMT) in a “simulation of a nighttime invasion by enemy forces.”

The drills followed Taipei's claim that China deployed its largest naval presence to date in waters around Taiwan last week. Beijing has not confirmed whether its forces were holding drills during that time.

On the Penghu County exercises, the Taiwanese military said they were “aimed at testing the troops' ability to execute orders during wartime and ensure combat preparedness at any time.”

This was second such drill by the Penghu Defense Command after it conducted its first live-fire nighttime drill in late October, involving aerial, naval, and land simulations.

Separately, Taiwan said it detected 10 Chinese military aircraft and five naval vessels operating around the island early Thursday.

China considers Taiwan as its “breakaway province” but Taipei has insisted on its independence since 1949 while number of its diplomatic allies has tumbled to 12 this year.

- Beijing blasts US' Blinken

In Beijing, the Foreign Ministry blasted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for claiming that Taiwan is "our business," as well.

"Taiwan is China's Taiwan, and the Taiwan question is purely an internal affair of China, not subject to any external interference," ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing.

The outgoing top US diplomat had said in an interview, "The Chinese like to say Taiwan is no one else’s business, it’s our business. The world has said actually, no, it is our business."

Blinken highlighted the need to "preserve peace across the Taiwan Strait, because were that to change it would deeply affect our interests."

In response, the spokesman Lin asserted that the "greatest challenge to peace in the Taiwan region today comes from 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities and the disruption caused by external forces.

"The US should stop condoning separatist forces advocating 'Taiwan independence,' and cease interfering in China's internal affairs regarding the Taiwan question."