BEIJING, Aug 2 — Taipei’s Taoyuan Airport received a letter saying that there are three explosive devices planted on its territory to disrupt US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, reported Sputnik quoting the Global Times on Tuesday.
Pelosi is expected to arrive on the island on Tuesday evening while the airport received the threats in the morning, the newspaper said.
The airport administration promptly alerted the air harbour security service, the transport ministry, the Civil Aeronautics Administration and the police with law enforcement agencies to trace the sender.
No evacuations from the airport were announced, but employees were urged to exercise maximum vigilance.
Meanwhile Taiwan’s military is increasing its combat readiness starting from Tuesday amid the speculations over the visit of Pelosi to the island and China’s potential retaliation the Central News Agency (CNA) reported citing sources familiar with the matter.
According to the Taiwanese news outlet, the military was scheduled to begin exercises at 8 am local time (01:00 GMT) on Aug 2 and carry on until 12 pm Aug 4, adjusting all movements depending on the actions of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Currently the combat readiness of the island’s military is at normal level and has not been raised to “emergency readiness,” CNA reported.
From July 29-30, the PLA held military drills with firing exercises in the southeastern province of Fujian across the strait from Taiwan as well as in the western part of the Hainan Strait. The Chinese military has reportedly started new exercises in the South China Sea that will continue from Tuesday until Aug 6.
Pelosi’s Asian tour, which includes Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, stoked considerable international attention due to a tentative stop at Taiwan. If she proceeds with her visit, she will become the highest-ranking US politician to visit the island since 1997.
