Taiwan conducts missile live-firing test

Locked and loaded: A soldier launching a US-made TOW A2 missile during a live firing exercise in Pingtung county. — AFP

Taipei: Taiwan kicked off a two-day missile live-firing test ahead of its largest annual military exercises as the island ramps up preparations against an increasingly assertive China.

The 23 million Taiwanese people live under constant threat of invasion by Beijing, which views the self-ruled democracy as part of its territory to be seized one day.