Beijing, China – China began two days of live-fire drills from Thursday in some parts of the Taiwan Strait near the shores of its southeastern province of Fujian.
The news comes a day after talks between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on a range of issues, including democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.
The drills will run from 6.00 a.m. to 6 p.m. (2200 GMT to 1000 GMT) each day around Dongshan Island, bordering the province of Guangdong, maritime authorities said in a notice.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry on Thursday condemned China’s actions and called on Beijing to exercise “rational self-restraint” and “immediately cease its military provocations and gray-zone intrusions.”
“China has disregarded the international community’s shared aspirations for regional security, further unilaterally using military force to threaten the waters surrounding the Taiwan Strait, creating regional tensions, and once again confirming its nature as a troublemaker,” the island’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
China held its most extensive war games encircling Taiwan in December, after the United States unveiled a record $11.1 billion arms package for the island, whose government rejects China’s sovereignty claim.
During 10 hours of live-fire exercises at the time, China’s Eastern Theatre Command launched rockets into waters north and south of Taiwan.
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Clarence Fernandez)
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