The Chinese Armed Forces have launched a series of live-fire military exercises in the Taiwan Strait this Thursday, shortly after the authorities of the Asian giant described the recent speech of Taiwanese President Lai Ching Te as "reckless," who emphasized that the island "will not act as a subordinate" of Beijing.
According to the information provided by the Army, these maneuvers will take place until 6:00 PM (local time) this Thursday, with plans to resume on Friday off the coast of Zhangzhou, in the eastern province of Fujian.
The military authorities have also indicated that the areas involved in the operation will remain temporarily closed to navigation while the activities last, without providing further details about the scope or type of deployment planned for now.
Lai's words, backed by leaders of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who have assured that they will never allow a "rollback" towards a "Chinese Taiwan," have provoked a new wave of reproaches from Beijing.
Official relations between Beijing and Taipei were interrupted in 1949, when the troops of the nationalist Kuomintang party, led by Chiang Kai Shek, were defeated in the civil war against the Communist Party of China and took refuge on the island of Taiwan.