China begins two days of live-fire drills in Taiwan Strait

Reuters | July 23, 2026 | 10:20 AM IST | Breaking News, World | Follow on Google News

China begins two days of live-fire drills in Taiwan Strait

BEIJING, July 23 (Reuters) – China began two days of ​live-fire drills from Thursday in some ‌parts of the Taiwan Strait near the shores of its southeastern province of ​Fujian.

The news comes a day ​after talks between U.S. Secretary of State ⁠Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister ​Wang Yi on a range of ​issues, including democratically-governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.

Read more alerts

The drills will run from 6.00 a.m. to 6 p.m. (2200 GMT to 1000 GMT) each day around Dongshan Island, ‌bordering ⁠the province of Guangdong, maritime authorities said in a notice.

China held its most extensive war games encircling Taiwan in December, after the ⁠United States unveiled a record $11.1 billion arms package for the island, whose government rejects China’s sovereignty claim.

During ⁠10 hours of live-fire exercises at the time, China’s Eastern Theatre Command launched rockets ⁠into waters north and south of Taiwan.

Reuters