Taiwan's military heightens combat readiness ahead of Pelosi visit

08/02/2022 12:20 PM

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A Taiwanese soldier guards a missile battery during the Han Kuang exercises last week. CNA file photo

Taipei, Aug. 2 (CNA) Taiwan's military heightened its combat readiness from 8 a.m. Tuesday in response to Chinese live-fire military exercises held amid rumors U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi will visit Taipei, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The movement will last until noon Thursday, and will be adjusted depending on the military threat from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), the source said.

However, the source added that combat readiness remains now at the "normal readiness," under Taiwan's two-tier system, and had not been raised to "emergency readiness."

According to foreign news reports, Pelosi and a delegation of fellow U.S. lawmakers could possibly arrive in Taiwan Tuesday night.

Pelosi and the delegation are currently on a tour of the Indo-Pacific region and have already announced stops in Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan.

Amid speculation Pelosi will also visit Taiwan, the PLA's Eastern Theater Command released a short video on social media Monday featuring land, sea, and airborne exercises, with the post also underlining that it was "ready for battle."

Also on Monday, Chinese state-controlled broadcaster China Central Television broadcast the test firing of a Dongfeng-17 ballistic missile, which it said was evidence of the Chinese military's "solid strength."

(By Matt Yu and Elizabeth Hsu)

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