Taiwan monitoring Chinese landing drills in province across strait

TAIPEI — Taiwan's defense ministry said on Wednesday it was monitoring Chinese landing drills taking place in a province that lies opposite the island on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, where previous such exercises have taken place.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past five years to assert its claims, which Taipei strongly rejects.

The ministry said in a statement that since Tuesday it had detected Chinese combat aircraft, helicopters, drones, amphibious ships and roll-on/roll-off freighters loaded with ground troops carrying out "joint landing exercises."

The drills were taking place around Dacheng Bay in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian, facing Taiwan, the ministry said, adding it was monitoring the situation closely.

Calls to the Chinese defense ministry seeking comment outside of office hours went unanswered.

Taiwan has in previous years, also around the month of September, detected similar Chinese drills in the same location.

However, China lacks the ability to "fully" invade Taiwan as it does not have the equipment, the island's defense ministry said in a report to parliament last week.

China last staged large-scale war games around Taiwan in May shortly after Lai Ching-te took office as the island's new president, a man Beijing calls a "separatist."

Lai has repeatedly offered talks with Beijing, but has been rebuffed. He says only Taiwan's people can decide their future. — Reuters