Taiwan dispatched naval, land and air forces on Wednesday after China launched a live-fire exercise zone just 40 nautical miles off of Taiwan’s coast.
Taiwan’s defense ministry says it only became aware of the exercise when local Taiwanese vessels were warned to stay out of the area after the drills had begun. The drills are centered off the coast of the Taiwan port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwanese officials say China “blatantly violated international norms” by unilaterally designating the drill zone.
“This move not only poses a high risk to the navigation safety of international flights and ships at sea, but is also a blatant provocation to regional security and stability,” the defense ministry said in a statement.
As part of the drill, Taiwan says it detected 32 Chinese military aircraft carrying out joint exercises with warships. Chinese officials have so far not acknowledged Taiwan’s complaints.
Taiwan split from mainland China in 1949, when pro-democratic forces fled to the island after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong’s Chinese Communist Party.
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
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