China holds military exercises for 3rd day, simulating Taiwan blockade
China has announced that its fighter jets carried out “simulated strikes” on Taiwan on Monday, with “live ammunition”, in an ongoing military exercise that involved the Shandong aircraft carrier.
The US Navy, meanwhile, stated that it sailed its guided-missile destroyer through waters claimed by China in the South China Sea, in a “freedom of navigation” operation.
The Chinese military’s Eastern Theatre Command remarked that “multiple batches of H-6K fighters carrying live ammunition… carried out multiple waves of simulated strikes on important targets on Taiwan Island” and noted that the Shandong “participated in today’s exercise”.
China conducted “simulated strikes” on Taiwan with live ammunition in a military exercise involving their aircraft carrier. The US Navy sailed a guided-missile destroyer through waters claimed by China in the South China Sea. China’s Eastern Theatre Command stated that multiple fighter jets carried out simulated strikes on Taiwan with live ammunition.
The Taiwan defence ministry observed 59 Chinese military planes near Taiwan on the third day of China’s military drills.
It stated that 39 of those crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered Taiwan’s air defence zones.
The USS Milius sailed about 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) from where Chinese fighter jets and warships were carrying out their military drills.
The war games followed a meeting last week between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy outside Los Angeles.
The exercises prompted disapproval from Taipei and calls for restraint from Washington, which said it was “monitoring Beijing’s actions closely”.
