On August 4th, China fired live-fire drills near Taiwan as a sign of retaliation to the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. This has led to Airlines canceling flights to Taipei and rerouting others to avoid the nearby airspace that has been closed to civilian traffic. These were the biggest-ever drills in the Taiwan Strait, which were carried on in six zones encircling most of the island.
Vietnam was also requested that, for a few days, its airlines refrain from flying over areas close to Taiwan owing to China’s military drills in the midst of the US and China’s conflict over Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan.
According to a media report, Chinese authorities sent a formal notice to Dinh Viet Thang, the head of the Vietnamese Civil Aviation Authority, asking airlines operating in Asia to avoid flying near the island of Taiwan from August 4 until August 5.
(Sources: Republic World; Reuters)
