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Taiwan to stage live-fire drills as fears of possible PLA attack grow
- Exercises will take place on Dongsha Islands in South China Sea on April 25 and May 5, Taiwan’s coastguard says
- Announcement comes after People’s Liberation Army reported to have used drones to gather intelligence about Dongshas
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Taiwan is planning to stage live-fire drills on the Dongsha Islands in the South China Sea later this month in preparation for a possible attack by mainland Chinese forces, amid reports the PLA has sent drones to gather intelligence about the Taipei-controlled islets.
Observers say the drills, along with a recent threat by Taiwan’s coastguard to shoot down any People’s Liberation Army drones sighted over Dongsha, are likely to increase tensions in the region.
Taiwan’s coastguard said the anti-landing drills would involve the use of shoulder-launched Kestrel rockets.
“There will be two live-fire practices, one on April 25 and the other on May 5, and we have already sent notices to relevant agencies, asking them to alert fishermen and aircraft to stay out of the firing zones,” an official from the Taiwan Coast Guard Administration said on Friday.
The drills would run from 8am to 9pm on both days in an area with a radius of eight nautical miles and a height of up to 12,000 feet, he said.
The Dongsha Islands, also known as the Pratas Islands, lie 450km (280 miles) southwest of the Taiwanese port city of Kaohsiung.
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