BEIJING: After an unprecedented 72-hour drill in response to mainland US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island last week, China continued military drills around Taiwan on Monday, focusing on anti-submarine and maritime strike missions.
According to a statement from the People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command, joint exercises are continuing around Taiwan's maritime and airspace.
The place and duration of the exercise were not specified in the notice. As the PLA never formally declared the end of the war games, it was unclear whether the danger zones for the exercises designated by Beijing, which were in effect as of noon on Sunday, were in effect back on Monday.
Unlike the notices from Thursday to Sunday, the PLA's daily notice on Monday announcing the exercises near Taiwan did not say the military was conducting them "as planned".
According to a WeChat account linked to the nationalist tabloid Global Times, exercises in the air and at sea around Taiwan may continue, as summer is a popular time for the PLA to practice.
It said it was not clear whether the exercise would be included in the Eastern Command Theatre's "island blockade" series. Finally, the fourth to seventh exercises successfully met the required exercise objectives.
Professor Meng Jiangqing of Beijing's National Defense University, who has provided analysis to state media throughout the exercise, claimed that by international standards, the live-fire military exercise had to be announced 24 hours before.
The PLA continued its maritime military exercises elsewhere. A portion of its coast will remain closed every day from Tuesday to Thursday for firing exercises in the city of Zhanjiang in southern Guangdong province, mainland China's Maritime Security Administration announced on Monday.
The PLA also continued its training in the southern Yellow Sea, which is expected to conclude on August 15, and began its month-long live-fire exercise in the Bohai Sea on Monday.
After defying Beijing's warnings, Pelosi became the first US speaker of the House to visit Taiwan in 25 years. Beijing later imposed sanctions on him and his family members and accused him of disturbing the balance of power in the Taiwan Straits.
She has denied the allegation, and according to US President Joe Biden's administration, the exercise was an "exaggeration" because US officials had previously visited the island.
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