China fires missiles near waters off Taiwan as live-fire drills intensify

The conventional missiles flew over airspace covered by Taiwanese defense missiles, said Maj. Gen. Meng Xiangqing, a professor of strategy at the National Defense University in Beijing.

“We hit the targets under the observation of US Aegis combat system, which means the Chinese military has solved the difficulties of hitting long-range targets on waters,” Meng said on CCTV.

The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said in a statement late Thursday night that the trajectory of the missiles was above the atmosphere and therefore posed no risk to Taiwan.

“Using the surveillance and reconnaissance systems, our military can accurately calculate the trajectory of the Dong Feng-series missiles fired by the Chinese Communist Party,” it said.

Because it was predicted that the missiles would land in the waters east of Taiwan, authorities did not trigger air raid alerts, it said.

Chinese state media said that exercises to simulate an air and sea “blockade” around Taiwan had started Wednesday, but offered little solid evidence to back up the claim. Later Thursday, images showed military helicopters flying past Pingtan island, one of Taiwan’s closest points to mainland China.

The military posturing was a deliberate show of force after Pelosi left the island on Wednesday evening, bound for South Korea, one of the final stops on an Asia tour that ends in Japan this weekend.

In addition, the ministry said that 22 Chinese warplanes had entered its air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Thursday, and that all of them crossed the strait median line.

The ministry also said it detected four drones — in three separate batches — flying over “restricted waters” around the Kinmen islands, a group of Taiwan-controlled outlying islands close to China, on Thursday night local time.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said in a statement Thursday night that the military fired flares to warn the drones away — without specifying the origin or type of drone — and that it continues to monitor the situation and remains on high alertness.

On Thursday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said its military was remaining in a “normal” but wary posture, and called the live-fire drills an “irrational act” that attempted to “change the status quo.”

“We are closely monitoring enemy activities around the sea of Taiwan and that of outlying islands, and we will act appropriately,” the ministry said in a statement.

Taiwan also accused China of “following North Korea’s example of arbitrary test-fire of missiles in waters close to other countries” in a statement issued by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday.

The exercises have caused disruption to flight and ship schedules, with some international flights canceled and vessels urged to use alternative routes for several ports around the island.

And they have heightened tensions beyond Taiwan’s waters. Japan’s Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said Thursday that five missiles were believed to have landed within Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

“This is a serious problem that concerns Japan’s security and the safety of its citizens. We strongly condemn it,” Kishi told reporters during a press conference.

Kishi said this was the first time that Chinese ballistic missiles had landed within Japan’s EEZ and that a protest had been lodged with Beijing.

Exercises exerting pressure

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, who met with Pelosi during her visit, called China’s military drills “an irresponsible act,” adding that Taipei does not want to “provoke disputes” but will defend its sovereignty and…