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Chinese fighter jets near the Taiwanese coast
Photo: Li Bingyu/AP
In response to the visit of US leader Nancy Pelosi, China launched huge military maneuvers in the waters around Taiwan - and was supposed to end it on Sunday.
But the end of the Chinese military maneuvers is still a long time coming.
Now Taiwan has also started military exercises to ward off a possible attack.
The Chinese military exercises continued on Tuesday, according to the Chinese People's Army.
The Air Force and the Navy would be used.
"Joint blockade and joint support operations" are the focus of the exercises around the island of Taiwan.
Attempts to "lower public morale in Taiwan"
Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on Tuesday accused China of "preparing for an invasion of Taiwan".
Pelosi's visit to Taiwan only serves as a pretext for Beijing.
In addition to military exercises, it relies on "cyber attacks, a disinformation campaign and economic pressure to weaken public morale in Taiwan," Wu said in Taipei.
Taiwan now held its own maneuvers.
Live artillery shells and flares were fired in Taiwan's southernmost district of Pingtung, a journalist from the AFP news agency reported on site.
The exercise lasted a little less than an hour, according to an army spokesman.
Another maneuver is planned for Thursday.
Since the split between China and Taiwan in 1949, Beijing has viewed the island as a breakaway territory that it wants to reunite with the mainland - if necessary using military force.
The conflict between Beijing and Taipei has recently intensified under Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has also fueled fears that Beijing could use a similar approach when dealing with Taiwan.
mrc/AFP
