TAIWAN
China military drills encircling Taiwan
August 3, 2022 - China is to conduct large-scale military drills and missile tests in a defiant show of force after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the highest-ranking U.S. politician to visit the island in 25 years.
The military exercises could risk war in one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has long threatened to use force if Taipei refuses to submit to its rule indefinitely or if an external power interferes with its claim.
Three of the six zones Beijing has declared off-limits for exercises intrude into Taiwan’s territorial waters – a huge escalation.
The drills announced for later this week could amount to a blockade of a country whose economic lifeblood comes from exports and which is highly reliant on energy imports.