The maneuvers, which began on Thursday at noon (01:00 Argentine time), included “conventional missile fire” towards the waters off the eastern coast of Taiwan, said Shi Yi, a spokesman for the Chinese military forces.
“All the missiles hit the target accurately,” Colonel Shi added.
For its part, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense confirmed that the Chinese army had fired “11 ballistic missiles” from Dongfeng type “between 13:56 and 16:00 in the waters north, south and east of Taiwan.”
They are “irrational actions that undermine regional peace,” condemned Taiwan, which did not specify whether the projectiles flew over the island.
In pingtana Chinese island located near the area of the maneuvers, AFP journalists saw around 13:13 (02:13 Argentine time) several unidentified projectiles rise into the sky, followed by a trail of white smoke.
In this area, the closest to Taiwan, reporters also saw five helicopters soldiers flying low near a tourist spot.
The Chinese military exercises are due to conclude on Sunday.
japan protest
Ballistic missiles from China would have fallen in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ)) of Japan for the first time, declared the Japanese defense minister, nobuo kishi.
“We believe that five of the nine ballistic missiles launched by China fell in Japan’s EEZ,” he said. “We lodged a protest with China through diplomatic channels,” Kishi said, calling the incident a “serious issue affecting our national security and that of our citizens.”
Some islands of the department of Okinawan, in the extreme south, are only a few tens of kilometers from Taiwan. The minister said that this was the first time that China’s ballistic missiles had entered the EEZ.
The triggering visit
Despite warnings from China, which considers Taiwan to be part of its territory, Pelosi, second in the line of presidential succession, made a lightning visit to Taipeiin which he assured that the United States “will not abandon” Taiwan.
China viewed the US lawmaker’s initiative as a provocation and vowed to punish those who offended her, announcing military exercises in the waters around Taiwan, which include some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
According to the Chinese newspaper Global Times, which cites military analysts, these operations are of an “unprecedented” scale since the missiles will fly over Taiwan for the first time.
Beijing defended the exercises, as well as other maneuvers in recent days, as “just and necessary” and blamed the United States and its allies for the escalation.
“In the current fight over Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, America is the provocateur and China is the victim“said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.
A Chinese military source told AFP that the exercises are being held “in preparation for actual combat“.
“If Taiwanese forces come into contact with the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) and accidentally shoot a gun, the PLA will take severe action and all consequences will be on the Taiwanese side,” added the Chinese Armed Forces.
The exercises seek to simulate a “blockade” of the island and include “the assault of targets at sea, the attack of targets on land and the control of air space,” according to the official Xinhua agency.
The hypothesis of an invasion of Taiwan, with 23 million inhabitants, is unlikely. But, since the election in 2016 of the current president, Tsai Ing-wen, the threats to carry it out are increasing.
Source: Ambito
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