China regards the island nation of Taiwan as its own, and has reacted with anger and threats to the US marking a presence in the area with Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. The exercises that began on Thursday affect several of the world’s busiest shipping lanes at sea.
– Six large areas around the island have been selected for this combat exercise, and during this period, ships and aircraft should not be in the relevant waters and airspace, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV explains.
Smoke and loud bangs
On Thursday afternoon local time, reporters from the news agency AFP could see how China opened fire in the Taiwan Strait. White smoke could be seen and loud bangs were heard as projectiles detonated over the sea. China has announced that live ammunition will be used.
The Beijing regime’s decision to carry out the exercises is condemned by EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell.
– There is no justification for using a visit as a pretext for aggressive military activity in the Taiwan Strait. It is normal and routine for legislators from our countries to make international trips, writes Borrell on Twitter.
Pelosi to South Korea
Borrell is in Cambodia for a meeting with the cooperation organization Asean, and so are the foreign ministers of China and the United States, Wang Yi and Antony Blinken. However, the latter two are not expected to hold any individual meetings.
However, the ministerial meeting as a whole issued a communique warning that the situation could lead to “miscalculations, serious confrontation, open conflict and unpredictable consequences among major powers”, AFP reports.
Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, has continued to South Korea at the same time. There, on Thursday, she is also expected to visit the DMZ, the no-man’s land established along the border with North Korea.