Taiwan holds military exercises of its own in response to China drills

Taiwan’s Eighth Army Corps confirmed drills had started in southern county of Pingtung

Taiwan began a live fire drill exercise of its own on Tuesday in response to China’s ongoing display of military power following the controversial visit of American leader Nancy Pelosi to Taipei last week.

Taiwan’s Eighth Army Corps confirmed the drill began in the Pingtung region, in the south of the country.

The army will continue to train and accumulate strength to deal with the threat from China, said Lou Woei-jye, spokesperson for Taiwan’s Eighth Army Corps , reported the Associated Press.

“No matter what the situation is... this is the best way to defend our country,” he added.

The next drill is scheduled to take place on Thursday and is expected to include the deployment of hundreds of troops and about 40 howitzers.

Live-fire exercises are a show of military power that involve the use of live ammunition to create training conditions that are as close to real combat scenarios as possible.

China has been continuing with its military exercise it began last week after Ms Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, setting off alarms for a possible military conflict in the region.

Taiwan‘s foreign minister said on Tuesday that China is using military drills to rehearse an invasion of the self-governing island democracy

While Taiwan has lived under fear of a Chinese invasion for decades, recent hostilities, exacerbated by Ms Pelosi’s visit last week, have seen missiles fired over the capital Taipei for the first time and China warships sailing across the median line of the Taiwan Strait.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be included into the mainland even by force if necessary and wanted to block Ms Pelosi’s visit, which was symbolic of the American support to the democratic nation. The island nation has been self governed since 1949.

Observers say the situation in the region has definitely reached a point of unprecedented tensions following Ms Pelosi’s visit but are divided over the possibility of a full-blown war.