OPEN FIRE
China fires ballistic MISSILES at Taiwan waters as enormous military drills just 12 miles from shore ‘blockade’ island
CHINA launched a flurry of ballistic missiles that landed in blockaded Taiwan's waters on Thursday amid huge military drills as close as 12 miles from the island's shore.
Beijing fired 11 Dongfeng ballistic missiles from a nearby military installation into waters surrounding Taiwan, according to the government in Taipei.
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The deadly rockets flew over Pingtan, leaving plumes of white smoke and loud banging sounds in its wake.
Meanwhile, China confirmed it deployed more than 100 war planes towards Taiwan.
"The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has deployed more than 100 of fighter jets, bombers and other types of warplanes to the northern, southwestern and southeastern airspace off the Taiwan island," People's Daily, a state-run news channel, tweeted.
It comes as Chinese forces published footage of a live missile strike by its Eastern Theater Rocket Force.
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The clip showed a towering warhead being deployed from the back of a military vehicle in a forested area.
It ends with a simulation of rockets falling in waters off Taiwan in what Beijing dubbed a "precision strike" of its "area denial capabilities" - effectively creating a 'reign of fire' blockade around the island nation.
"Long-range armed live fire precision missile strikes were carried out on selected targets in the eastern area of the Taiwan Strait," People's Liberation Army said in a statement on social media.
“The expected outcome was achieved," it added as no other details were given.
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Japan accused China of misfiring its rockets into its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Vice Foreign Minister Takeyoshi Mori used diplomatic channels to blast Beijing when five of its ballistic missiles landed in Japanese territory, according to .
It comes as China kicked off its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan on Thursday in a show of force straddling vital international shipping lanes.
Taiwan has been on high alert as China conducts a series of war games in response to a visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Polosi to the island this week.
Beijing vowed "punishment" and announced military drills in the seas around Taiwan - some of the world's busiest waterways.
The war game drills began at 12 pm (0400 GMT) on Thursday and involved "live-firing", according to Chinese state media.
"Six major areas around the island have been selected for this actual combat exercise and during this period, relevant ships and aircraft should not enter the relevant waters and airspaces," state broadcaster CCTV reported.
But Taiwan's maritime officials said the Chinese military established a seventh zone encircling the island and that drills would be extended to Monday.
The exercises are taking place around just 12 miles from Taiwan's shores and were expected to wrap up midday on Sunday.
Taiwan's defence ministry said it was closely watching the military exercises.
"The Ministry of National Defence stresses that it will uphold the principle of preparing for war without seeking war, and with an attitude of not escalating conflict and causing disputes," it said in a statement.
Beijing's nationalist state-run tabloid Global Times said, citing military analysts, that the exercises were "unprecedented" and that missiles would fly over Taiwan for the first time.
"This is the first time the PLA will launch live long-range artillery across" the Taiwan Strait, the newspaper said using the Chinese military's formal name, the People's Liberation Army.
Taiwan's defence ministry said it fired warning shots at unidentified aircraft flying over its Kinmen islands on Wednesday night.
Major General Chang Zone-sung told Reuters that a group of Chinese drones flew into the Kinmen area twice on last night at around 9pm and 10pm local times (2pm UK time).
He said his troops "immediately fired flares to issue warnings and to drive them away".
"After that, they turned around. They came into our restricted area and that's why we dispersed them," he said.
"We have a standard operating procedure. We will react if they come in."
Kinmen islands are a heavily-armed fortress just off the southeastern coast of China.
Maj Gen Chang said he believed the drones were trying to father intelligence on Taiwan's security around the outlaying islands.
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Last week, Taiwan fired flares at a drone that "glanced" that was believed to be probing defences at the Matsu archipelago near China's Fujian province, Taiwan's defence military said.
It comes as China brought the world a step closer to nuclear war when its navy ships and military aircraft crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait Thursday morning, a Reuters correspondent has claimed.
The correspondent claimed 10 Chinese navy warships and multiple aircraft crossed the country's maritime border.
China fired long-range rockets towards Taiwan in the latest military drills taking place in the Taiwan Strait.
In response, Taiwan triggered its missiles systems to track Chinese fighter jets near the median line while navy ships remained close by to monitor China's navy activity.
Beijing also deployed two aircraft carriers - the Shandong and Liaoning - to sea in an unprecedented show of strength amid fears of invasion.
China vowed to surround Taiwan as part of a "targeted military operations" in response to a controversial visit to the country by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
State-affiliated media in China has quoted the country's Ministry of National Defence as saying the People's Liberation Army will be countering Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in a bid to "defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity".
These operations will include live fire drills and "war games" around the coast of the island, which China claims is a breakaway province.
On Tuesday, China announced a series of life-fire exercises surrounding Taiwan between Thursday and Sunday.
Commercial ships and flights have been warned to avoid these areas during these times.
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China has threatened to "fight to the death" over Taiwan, which it views at its own.
In response, the US Navy has deployed four warships east of Taiwan, while Chinese vessels and planes have moved close to the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
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