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China has fired several ballistic missiles into the waters around Taiwan as it launched large-scale military exercises in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-ruled island.
Chinese state media said the live-fire drills in six areas around Taiwan got underway at noon local time (04:00 GMT) on Thursday and will continue until the same time on Sunday.
Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman for China’s Eastern Theater Command, said in a statement carried by state media that the rocket forces in multiple locations on the mainland launched several types of missiles carrying conventional warheads to designated waters off the eastern coast of Taiwan.
All of the missiles hit targets accurately, he said, adding that the aim of the drills was to test the precision of the missiles and ability to deny an enemy access to or control of an area.
The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense said that the Chinese military had fired Dongfeng-class ballistic missiles in waters to the northeast and southwest of the island at around 1:56pm local time (05:56 GMT) on Thursday. It also said two missiles were fired near Taiwan’s Matsu islands, which lie off the coast of the mainland, and condemned the exercises as “irrational actions that undermine regional peace”.
Source: Aljazeera
