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China conducts live firing exercise in east of Taiwan Strait, top brass says

The live firing exercise began at 1:00 pm local time, with "the intended results achieved" through surgical strikes at eastern areas of the Taiwan Strait, the document reads

BEIJING, August 4. /TASS/. Land forces of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted on Thursday a live firing exercise in the east of the Taiwan Strait, using long-range artillery, the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command said in a statement.

The live firing exercise began at 1:00 pm local time (08:00 am Moscow time), with "the intended results achieved" through surgical strikes at eastern areas of the Taiwan Strait, the document reads.

Earlier on Thursday, the PLA launched large-scale military drills with live firing exercises in six zones around Taiwan. The drills kicked off at 12:00 local time (07:00 am Moscow time) and will last up to the noon of August 7. Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported earlier that of the six zones, three were in the areas the island considers to be its own territorial waters.

The drills were announced shortly after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taipei. Experts say the drills would exceed the scale of similar ones held during the Taiwan crisis in 1996-1997.