Taiwan’s Defense Ministry confirmed the first long-range ballistic missiles were fired into the waters off the island.
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Chinese forces officially began four days of military exercises around Taiwan on Thursday afternoon local time, a response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit to the self-ruled island between August 2 and 3.
China’s People’s Liberation Army warned last week that it wouldn’t «sit back» if Pelosi travelled to Taiwan. By doing so, she became the most senior American elected official to visit in a quarter-century.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry confirmed the detection of Chinese long-range missiles fired at around 1:56 p.m. local time (1:56 a.m. ET). The island’s missile defenses were at the ready, the ministry said.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told NPR before the drills began that the exercises would lead to unnecessary «risks and challenges.» The White House was communicating with both Beijing and Taipei to avoid miscalculations, he said.
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In this combination image, Left inset, Chinese military helicopters fly past Pingtan island, one of mainland China’s closest point from Taiwan, in Fujian province on August 4, 2022, right inset, handout image released by the South Korean Defense Ministry, Aircraft Carrier USS Ronald Reagan and South Korea’s Marado amphibious landing ship take part in a joint naval exercise on June 04, 2022 at an undisclosed location and main image, Smoke trails from projectiles launched by the Chinese military are seen as tourists look on from Pingtan island,August 04, 2022.
