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Taiwan set for live-fire drill in ‘potential flashpoint’ Pratas Islands
- Marines and coastguard to take part in first of two drills as part of annual training
- Japanese media reported in May that mainland Chinese military planned a large-scale training exercise simulating invasion of the islets
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Taiwan’s staging of a live-fire drill in the Pratas Islands on Sunday has highlighted the chain’s strategic importance and potential to be a flashpoint in the South China Sea, analysts said.
Marines who have been posted in the Taiwanese-run islands for off-site training operations since August are expected to join local coastguard members in the anti-aircraft and anti-sea-landing drill. There were reports this year that mainland China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) might conduct an exercise simulating an invasion of the islets.
According to Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration, which 20 years ago took over the Taiwanese military’s role of safeguarding the islands, the exercise is part of its annual training programme there, and will consist of two live-fire drills, one on Sunday and the other seven days later.
Known as the Dongsha Islands in Chinese, the Pratas Islands – consisting of one island, two coral reefs and two banks – are located 445km (277 miles) from Taiwan’s southern port city of Kaohsiung and just over 300km from the Chinese mainland. They are governed by Taiwan but claimed by Beijing.
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In May, Japan’s Kyodo News reported that the PLA was planning to conduct a large-scale training exercise on the southern Chinese island of Hainan in August that would include simulating taking the Pratas islets.
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