China Military Holds Beach Assault Drill to Threaten US, Taiwan

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army and Navy held joint amphibious landing exercises on Friday, a day after a second U.S. military aircraft landed on Taiwan in less than two months, the Communist Party-backed Global Times reported Sunday.

The exercises, in waters off the eastern province of Fujian near Taiwan, should be seen as warnings and a deterrent to the U.S. as well as “Taiwan secessionists,” the newspaper cited an unidentified military expert as saying. More complex drills will likely be staged in the future, the report said.

The drills followed the Chinese defense ministry’s warning on Thursday that foreign planes entering the country’s airspace without its approval would lead to “serious consequences.” A U.S. government aircraft landed at Taipei airport Thursday morning for about half an hour, United Daily News reported.