Taiwan LIVE: China Launches Drills Around Taiwan In ‘Stern Warning’ To External Forces | Xi | N18G

China has launched live-fire drills around Taiwan, deploying air, navy and rocket troops for war games that its military said were aimed at testing combat readiness and delivering a “stern warning” against “separatist” and “external interference” forces. The exercises on Monday prompted Taiwan to scramble soldiers and hardware to rehearse repelling an attack. The exercises on Monday prompted Taiwan to scramble soldiers and hardware to rehearse repelling an attack. It came amid anger in Beijing over an $11.1bn weapons sale to Taiwan by the United States, as well as a statement by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who suggested that the Japanese military could get involved if China were to attack the self-governed island. Beijing considers Taiwan as part of its territory and has pledged to take control of the island by force if necessary. In a regular news briefing on Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian warned that “any sinister schemes to obstruct China’s reunification are doomed to fail”. “External forces attempting to use Taiwan to contain China and arm Taiwan will only embolden pro-independence arrogance and push the Taiwan Strait into a perilous situation of imminent war,” Lin said. Lin also claimed that pro-independence forces in Taiwan were willing to turn the island into a “powder keg”, thus “exposing their vicious nature”. #China #Taiwan #chinataiwan #beijing #asiaews #cnbctv18