Taiwanese forces fired artillery shells and flares as part of military defense exercises, while the authorities downplayed the importance of these exercises, stressing that they were planned before and did not constitute a response to China's maneuvers.
The Taiwanese army conducted new live-fire exercises on Thursday, after Beijing completed its largest-ever military exercise around the island, which China considers an integral part of its territory.
Eighth Corps spokesman Lu Wei Jie told AFP that the Taiwanese forces fired artillery shells and flares as part of the defensive exercises.
He added that these maneuvers in Pingtung County (south) started at 08:30 (00:30 GMT) and lasted an hour.
And appeared in a live broadcast, artillery pieces lined up on the coast and soldiers distributed in units firing one shell after another towards the sea.
Taiwan has already conducted military exercises Tuesday in Pingtung. The military said hundreds of men took part in both rounds of maneuvers.
The authorities downplayed the importance of these exercises, stressing that they were previously scheduled and do not constitute a response to China's maneuvers.
China was incensed after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan last week. In response to the visit, it conducted days of air and naval maneuvers around the island.
Taipei accused China of using Pelosi's visit as an excuse to train for an invasion.
"We have two goals for these exercises, the first is to ensure the good condition of the artillery and its good maintenance, and the second is to confirm the results of last year," Lu said, referring to military exercises that took place in 2021.
Beijing announced the end of its maneuvers on Wednesday, stressing that its forces "carried out various tasks" in the Taiwan Strait, and at the same time pledged to continue guarding its waters.
But in the same statement, China confirmed that it "will continue to conduct military exercises and prepare for war."
Meanwhile, China's Taiwan Affairs Office announced in a "white paper" Wednesday that Beijing does not "abandon the use of force" against its neighbor and retains "the possibility of taking all necessary measures."
"We are ready to create a wide space (for cooperation) in order to achieve peaceful reunification. But we will not leave any room for separatist actions aimed at achieving a false independence for Taiwan," the document said.