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China launches 'unprecedented' live-fire drills encircling Taiwan in furious response to Pelosi's visit
China began its promised military drills around Taiwan on Thursday, as the island braces for the potential fallout of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit.
International
TAIPEI, Taiwan — China began its promised military drills in the airspace and waters around Taiwan on Thursday, as the Beijing-claimed island braces for the potential fallout of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit.
China’s People’s Liberation Army launched 11 ballistic missiles into the waters off northern, southern and eastern Taiwan in several waves starting at 1:56 p.m. (1:56 a.m. ET), the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said. It is the first time China has fired missiles into the waters around Taiwan since 1996.
The ministry condemned what it called China’s “irrational actions,” saying they undermined regional peace.
About an hour earlier, the PLA began what are believed to be unprecedented live-fire drills in six zones that effectively encircle Taiwan’s main island, which is about 100 miles off the coast of China. Chinese state media reported that the exercises had “achieved the expected results.”
The drills were announced shortly after Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late Tuesday night, and are set to last until Sunday. Taiwan says they are a serious violation of its sovereignty and amount to air and sea blockades, affecting international shipping, aviation and trade.
Pelosi, who left Taiwan on Wednesday evening, was the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the island in 25 years. Beijing claims the self-ruling democracy of 24 million people as its territory, and viewed her visit as an infringement of its sovereignty.
Pelosi’s visit and Beijing’s furious response have sent tensions in the Taiwan Strait to their highest point in decades, further straining relations between China and the United States.
On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the speaker’s visit as “manic, irresponsible and highly irrational,” Reuters reported, citing Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
Speaking in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, at a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Wang said China was taking necessary and timely defensive countermeasures to protect its sovereignty and security.
Taiwan’s ministry of foreign affairs strongly condemned the missile launches, which it compared to missile tests by North Korea, and called on the international community to continue to show solidarity with Taiwan.
Taiwan’s ministry of defense repeated its resolve to avoid escalating tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwanese forces “are operating as usual and monitor our surroundings in response to irrational activities from PRC, aiming for changing the status quo & destabilizing the region’s security,” the ministry said on Twitter on Thursday, using an abbreviation for China’s formal name, the People’s Republic of China. “We seek no escalation, but we don’t stand down when it comes to our security and sovereignty.”