BEIJING: China began army exercises in the East China Sea to the north of Taiwan on Tuesday, including live-fire practices from warships, as the United States and its partners conduct their drills in the Western Pacific.
China routinely conducts army exercises along its coast, though the ones near Beijing-claimed Taiwan often attract the most attention.
According to Arab News, China’s Maritime Safety Administration issued a no-sail zone warning from late morning to mid-afternoon on Tuesday for a location off Taizhou City in Zhejiang province for live fire army exercises from warships.
It said other drills around the exact location would last until late Tuesday evening.
The military drills are near the Dachen islands, which Taiwan controlled until 1955 and being evacuated after Chinese armed forces seized other nearby islands in a bloody battle.
Taiwan controls Kinmen and Matsu islands, off the coast of China’s Fujian province, held since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taipei after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists.
China’s more drills
The maritime safety agency said that China would hold separate exercises in another northern part of the East China Sea until late Wednesday afternoon.
China’s East China Sea army exercises coincide with a quadrilateral marine exercise in the Philippine Sea that started on Friday involving the United States, Canada, Japan, and France.
The United States 7th Fleet said in a statement that includes two carrier strike groups led by United States aircraft carriers, USS Ronald Reagan and USS Nimitz, jointly operating for the first time since June 2020.
