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China announces continued military exercises around Taiwan on Monday

Taiwan military vows that it 'will not back down' to pressure from PLA

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(YouTube, MND screenshot)

(YouTube, MND screenshot)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China's military on Monday (Aug. 8) announced that it will extend military exercises by sea and air around Taiwan, prompting Taiwan's defense ministry to vow that it "will not back down" to such pressure tactics.

Sunday (Aug. 7) was supposed to be the last day of military exercises and live-fire drills that started on Aug. 4, allegedly in response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's 20-hour visit to Taiwan earlier in the week. However, on Monday (Aug. 8), the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command said that it will extend the exercises further.

That day, the Eastern Theater Command released a statement in which it said that it will continue to conduct scenario-based joint exercises in the sea and airspace around Taiwan. It added that the drills will focus on organizing joint "anti-submarine and sea assault operations."

In addition, the China Maritime Safety Administration said there will be live-fire drills held in the South China Sea and the waters to the east of the three islands off of Zhanjiang in Guangdong Province from Aug. 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Aug. 8 and 9.

At a Ministry of National Defense (MND) press conference, Lieutenant General Yeh Gou-huei (葉國輝) responded by saying that China's exercises are designed to "confine our training space and our reaction time." Therefore, "The armed forces will not back down, and we will be more active in dealing with it."