The Chinese military was holding a live fire exercise in the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, just a week after large-scale drills, as Beijing piles up pressure on the island.
China has long claimed Taiwan as its territory and says it will not renounce the use of force to bring it under its control.
In what Beijing describes as a "stern warning to the separatist acts of 'Taiwan Independence' forces,'" it sent planes and warships around the island, earlier this month.
On Monday, the Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) in the eastern island of Pingtan announced that "gun firing" would start at 9 a.m. local time (1 a.m. GMT) and take place for four hours in a limited area, close to the Chinese mainland, encompassing about 150 square kilometers (60 square miles).
Pingtan is the nearest point in mainland China to Taiwan's main island and is about 105 kilometers (66 miles) from Taiwan. Maritime authorities did not share which Chinese force would carry out the live firing, or its objective.
In response to the drills, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it was closely monitoring China's "military activities and intentions." Taipei said the exercises could be part of Beijing's "tactics to bolster its intimidation in conjunction with the dynamics in the Taiwan Strait."
Leader Cho Jung-tai described them as a "threat that undermines regional peace and stability."
Passing ships
Over the weekend, a U.S. and a Canadian warship passed through the 180-kilometer Taiwan Strait, part of regular passages by Washington and its allies meant to reinforce its status as an international waterway. Beijing condemned the transit, accusing it of disrupting "peace and stability" in the strait.
On Oct. 14, China deployed a number of military aircraft as well as warships and coast guard vessels to encircle Taiwan. This was the fourth round of major military drills in just over two years in the area. Following the drills, Taiwan heightened alert levels and deployed forces to outlying islands.
Beijing ramped up military pressure on Taipei in recent years, deploying on a near-daily basis warplanes and other military aircraft as well as ships around the island.
Following its "Joint Sword-2024B" exercises, China’s military affirmed never to renounce the use of force to retake the island.
During a recent visit to a brigade of the Chinese military's Rocket Force in the wake of those drills, President Xi Jinping urged them to strengthen their preparedness for war, state media said.