Taiwan military holds live fire drills on strategic southern coast; strategic area is very near the Philippines

A TOW II A missile is fired from an M220A2 TOW Launcher during a live fire drill in Pingtung County, Southern Taiwan, Monday, July 3, 2023. (- AP

FANGSHAN, Taiwan/MANILA (Reuters): Taiwan's military carried out live fire drills on its strategically-located southern coast on Monday, firing missiles from highly mobile armoured cars to destroy targets close to shore in a simulation of repelling invading forces.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military pressure over the past three years to try to assert its sovereignty claim, and the island's armed forces routinely practice seeing off a Chinese attack.