China holds 'shooting' drills off Taiwan's coast, vows 'reunification' push

26/2/2025 16:14

China's military held "shooting training" on Wednesday off Taiwan's southwest coast in a move Taipei described as provocative and dangerous, while a senior Chinese leader vowed unswerving efforts to bring the island under Beijing's control.



Shortly before 9 a.m., Taiwan's defence ministry said in a statement, it had detected 32 Chinese military aircraft carrying out a "joint combat readiness drill" with Chinese warships in the Taiwan Strait area.



"During this period it even blatantly violated international practice by setting up a drills area in waters about 40 nautical miles off the coast ... without prior warning, claiming that it would carry out 'shooting training'," the ministry added.



Taiwan's major southwestern population centres of Kaohsiung and Pingtung are both home to important naval and air bases. Kaohsiung is also home to Taiwan's largest port, a busy hub for global shipping.



The exercises endanger the safety of international flights and shipping and are a "blatant provocation" to regional peace and stability, the ministry said, adding that it had dispatched its own forces to keep watch.