Taiwan will not provoke conflict, but will firmly defend its sovereignty and national security, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Thursday, responding to Chinese military exercises near the island.
China fired missiles near Taiwan waters, a day after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a solidarity trip to the self-governing island.
Taiwan Defense Ministry says China launched 11 missiles into waters near island
China fired 11 missiles into waters off Taiwan’s northeast and southwest on Thursday, according to the island’s Defense Ministry, as Beijing fulfills its promise that Taipei will pay a price for hosting the House Speaker. USA, Nancy Pelosi.
The Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command said in a statement that several missiles were fired into the sea off eastern Taiwan. He also stated that all projectiles hit the target accurately.
“The entire live fire training mission has been successfully completed and control of the relevant sea and air area has been suspended,” the statement from China reads.
Earlier, the Eastern Theater Command said it had conducted long-range shooting training in the Taiwan Strait, according to Chinese state broadcaster, as part of planned military exercises around the island.
Taiwan reported that Chinese long-range rockets landed near its islands of Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin, which are in the Taiwan Strait but located closer to the mainland than the main island. It later said a total of 11 Dongfeng (DF) missiles were fired into the island’s north, south and east waters between 1:56 pm and 4 pm local time on Thursday.
Chinese state media said drills to simulate an air and sea “blockade” around Taiwan began on Wednesday but offered little solid evidence to support the claim. Later, footage showed military helicopters flying over Pingtan Island, one of Taiwan’s closest points to mainland China.
The military stance was a deliberate show of force after Pelosi left the island on Wednesday night for South Korea, one of the final stops on an Asia tour that ends in Japan this weekend.
Just hours after its departure from Taipei on Wednesday, the island’s Defense Ministry said China had sent more than 20 fighter jets across the midline of the Taiwan Strait, the midway point between the mainland and Taiwan that Beijing says it does not recognize. but generally respects.
On Thursday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said its military was maintaining a “normal” but cautious stance, and called the shooting exercises an “irrational act” that sought to “change the status quo”.
“We are closely monitoring enemy activities around the Taiwan Sea and outlying islands and will act accordingly,” the ministry said in a statement.
Taiwan also accused China of “following North Korea’s example of arbitrary missile tests in waters close to other countries” in a statement released by the Foreign Ministry on Thursday.
The exercises caused disruptions to flight and ship schedules, with some international flights canceled and ships urged to use alternative routes to various ports on the island.
Source: CNN Brasil
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