China conducts second combat drill around Taiwan in less than two months

• China says it conducted actual combat drills in the sea and airspace around Taiwan.
• It was the second time that China claimed to have conducted war rehearsals.
• The drills were centered on land strikes and sea assaults.

It was the second time in less than a month that the military of China claimed to have conducted war rehearsals around Taiwan that were centered on land strikes and sea assaults.

In a statement released late on Sunday, the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command claimed its forces had organized “combined combat readiness patrols and actual combat drills” in the sea and the airspace surrounding Taiwan.

In a brief statement, it was noted that the exercises were intended to test the joint fighting capabilities and “resolutely counter the provocative actions of external forces and Taiwan independence separatist forces.”

Taiwan, which the Chinese government regards as its own territory, did not respond right away.

Late last month, China conducted similar drills. Taiwan said that 43 Chinese aircraft breached the Taiwan Strait’s median line, which serves as an informal delineation between the two sides.

Over the past three years, China has conducted frequent military incursions into the oceans and airspace around Taiwan. China has never renounced using force to seize control of the island.

After Nancy Pelosi, the then-Speaker of the United States House visited Taipei in August, China held war exercises close to Taiwan.

Taiwan, which is democratically governed, vehemently rejects Beijing’s claims of sovereignty.

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