Taiwan puts Quemoy live-fire drills on hold after Beijing warns against ‘targeted’ provocation
- Kinmen Defence Command was scheduled to start exercises on Tuesday but postponed citing bad weather
- Taipei newspaper quoted island command saying another reason for the postponement was to ‘avoid provocation’
Taiwan’s military has suspended live-fire drills in waters near Quemoy in what is believed to be an attempt to avoid “provocation” after Beijing warned the island against holding the exercises.
The island’s military was originally scheduled to start a series of live-fire drills in waters off Quemoy, also known as Kinmen, on Tuesday amid heightened cross-strait tensions.
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It warned that “any provocations” or “rash” actions by the island were doomed to fail.
On Tuesday, citing bad weather, the Kinmen Defence Command, which had been set to stage the drills, put off the exercises, which include using land-based weapons to fire at sea.
“We need to postpone the drills due to adverse weather conditions,” an officer at the Kinmen Defence Command said by phone. “Shooting training at land-based firing ranges in Quemoy is being held instead,” he said.
Asked when the drills would resume, the officer said he could not give a specific date because it depended on the weather.
He declined to say if the postponement had anything to do with Beijing’s warning.
