China Launches Taiwan Strait Live-Fire Drills After US-China Talks
Beijing begins two-day live-fire exercises near Taiwan, one day after Rubio-Wang Yi talks in Manila signal deepening US-China tensions.
China launched live-fire military drills in the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, conducting exercises near Dongshan Island along Guangdong province's coast in a move that analysts see as a direct response to high-level US-China diplomacy. The drills, running daily from 2200 GMT to 1000 GMT for two days, came less than 24 hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Manila — a confrontation that surfaced sharp disagreements over Taiwan's security.
Rubio used the Manila meeting to publicly condemn Beijing's coast guard activity in waters near Taiwan, accusing China of "undermining the spirit of strategic stability." He acknowledged that fundamental policy differences over Taiwan are expected to persist "for the foreseeable future" and confirmed that a pending US arms package for Taiwan remains under internal review inside the administration.
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Rather than answer those charges through diplomatic channels, Beijing appeared to let its military speak. The timing mirrors a well-established Chinese playbook: in December, China conducted its most sweeping war games encircling Taiwan immediately after Washington unveiled a record $11.1 billion arms package for the island. The pattern suggests Beijing calibrates military signaling to match perceived provocations from Washington.
The drills raise the immediate stakes in one of the world's most sensitive flashpoints at a moment when US-China relations are already strained across trade, technology, and security fronts. With the US arms review still unresolved and coast guard tensions unabated, analysts warn further escalatory moves from either side remain a credible near-term risk.
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