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China announces Taiwan Strait drills ahead of possible Pelosi trip

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Agence France-Presse

<p>China on Saturday will hold live-fire military drills in the Taiwan Strait, the government announced via state media, raising the stakes ahead of a possible trip to the self-governing island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.</p><p>The maneuvers will be limited in scope and will take place off the island of Pingtan in Fujian province, according to a statement issued Thursday, but reported by Chinese state media only Friday.</p><p>&quot;Live ammunition will be fired... between 8:00 am and 9:00 pm (0000-1300 GMT) and any entry (into these waters) will be prohibited&quot;, said the government statement, which does not mention Pelosi.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/07/29/22/xi-warns-biden-not-to-play-with-fire-over-taiwan">Xi warns Biden not to &#x27;play with fire&#x27; over Taiwan</a></li></ul><p>Tensions have been simmering between the world&#x27;s two biggest economies and growing geopolitical rivals over Taiwan, with Chinese President Xi Jinping warning US President Joe Biden in a phone call Thursday &quot;those who play with fire will eventually get burned.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/07/26/22/taiwan-stages-chinese-invasion-war-games-with-ukraine-in-mind">Taiwan stages Chinese invasion war games with Ukraine in mind</a></li></ul><p>The US administration has not confirmed or denied reports that Pelosi, a key Biden ally, is going ahead with a stop in Taiwan during a tour of Asia. Pelosi has also not commented publicly on the widely reported plan.</p><p>Beijing sees such a trip as a provocation, given its claim to sovereignty over the self-ruling democratic island.</p><p>Although US officials often make discreet visits to Taiwan, Pelosi is second in line to the presidency and she will be using military transport during her visit to Asia.</p><p>The area where Saturday&#x27;s Chinese maneuvers are set to take place is located about 120 kilometers from the Taiwanese coast.</p><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1946046" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The maneuvers will be limited in scope and will take place off the island of Pingtan in Fujian province, according to a statement issued Thursday.