China fires missiles in largest ever drills in waters off Taiwan

 

A day after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the self-governing island, which Beijing views as its sovereign territory, China on Thursday undertook extraordinary military exercises and fired multiple missiles in the general vicinity of Taiwan.

 

China's state television CCTV announced that the drills had started shortly after their scheduled start time of 0400 GMT and that they will stop at 0400 GMT on Sunday. It stated that live shooting would take place in the airspace and on the water surrounding Taiwan as part of the drills, the biggest ever conducted by China in the Taiwan Strait.

 

The scheduled exercises, according to China's Eastern Theatre Command, included numerous conventional missile firings on the waters near Taiwan's eastern shore.

 

China last launched a missile into the waters near Taiwan in 1996.

 

According to Taiwan's defense ministry, several Dongfeng missiles were fired in the waters to the island's northeast and southwest.

 

According to an internal Taiwan security report seen by Reuters and confirmed by a Taiwan security source, two missiles were also launched by China near Taiwan's Matsu islands, which are located off the coast of China, at around 2 p.m. local time (0600 GMT), in the direction of drill zones declared by China.

 

Officials from Taiwan claim that the exercises are illegal under United Nations regulations, undermine Taiwan's territorial integrity, and directly interfere with unrestricted air and sea travel.

 

China is conducting drills on the busiest international waterways and aviation routes and that is "irresponsible, illegitimate behaviour," Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party said.

 

Taiwan's cabinet spokesman, expressing serious condemnation of the drills, said also that websites of the defence ministry, the foreign ministry and the presidential office were attacked by hackers.

 

Chinese navy ships and military aircraft briefly crossed the Taiwan Strait median line several times on Thursday morning, a Taiwanese source briefed on the matter told Reuters.

 

By midday on Thursday, military vessels from both sides remained in the area and iChinese navy ships and military aircraft briefly crossed the Taiwan Strait median line several times on Thursday morning, a Taiwanese source briefed on the matter told Reuters.

By midday on Thursday, military vessels from both sides remained in the area and in close proximity.

 

Taiwan scrambled jets and deployed missile systems to track multiple Chinese aircraft crossing the line.

 

"They flew in and then flew out, again and again. They continue to harass us," the Taiwanese source said.

 

China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and reserves the right to take it by force, said on Thursday its differences with the self-ruled island were an internal affair.

"Our punishment of pro-Taiwan independence diehards, external forces is reasonable, lawful," China's Beijing-based Taiwan Affairs Office said.n close proximity.

 

Taiwan scrambled jets and deployed missile systems to track multiple Chinese aircraft crossing the line.

 

"They flew in and then flew out, again and again. They continue to harass us," the Taiwanese source said.

 

China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and reserves the right to take it by force, said on Thursday its differences with the self-ruled island were an internal affair.

"Our punishment of pro-Taiwan independence diehards, external forces is reasonable, lawful," China's Beijing-based Taiwan Affairs Office said.