Chinese authorities said they would carry out a live firing exercise in the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, days after US and Canadian warships passed through the area and following recent military drills by Beijing.
The Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) in the southeastern city of Pingtan announced on Monday that “gun firing” would take place in a limited area close to the Chinese mainland coast and about 105 kilometres (66 miles) from self-ruled Taiwan.
China’s Communist Party has never ruled the island, but it claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will not renounce the use of force to bring it under its control.
The MSA’s statement specified that ships will be “prohibited” from entering the area of the live firing, delineated by GPS coordinates and encompassing about 150 square kilometres (58 square miles), for four hours from 9:00 am local time (0100 GMT).
It did not say which Chinese force would be carrying out the live firing, or its objective.
Pingtan is the closest point in mainland China to Taiwan.
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