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China says it carried out precision missile strikes in the Taiwan Strait : NPR


Chinese soldiers wearing masks guard the entrance to a military museum in Beijing on August 1. China says military exercises by the navy, air force and other departments are underway. in six regions around Taiwan.

Ng Han Guan / AP


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Ng Han Guan / AP


Chinese soldiers wearing masks guard the entrance to a military museum in Beijing on August 1. China says military exercises by the navy, air force and other departments are underway. in six regions around Taiwan.

Ng Han Guan / AP

KEELUNG, Taiwan – China said it carried out “precision missile strikes” in the Taiwan Strait on Thursday as part of military exercises involving increasing tension in the region to its highest level in decades.

Earlier, China announced that military exercises by the navy, air force and other divisions were being conducted in six areas around Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory. shall be merged by force if necessary.

The drills are motivated by a visit the island by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week and aimed to advertise China’s threat to attack the self-governing island republic. Along with moves to isolate Taiwan diplomatically, China has long threatened military retaliation for the island’s moves to cement its de facto independence with the support of its allies. important include the US.

“Long-range armed live-fire precision missile strikes were carried out on selected targets in the eastern part of the Taiwan Strait,” said the Eastern Theater Command of the Military Academy. People’s Liberation Army, the arm of the ruling Communist Party, said in a statement on social media. media platform.

“The expected results have been achieved,” it added. No details have been given.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said it had tracked the firing of China’s Dongfeng series missiles that began around 1:56 p.m. Thursday. In a statement, it said it used various early warning monitoring systems to track missile launches, which were directed into the waters northeast and southwest of Taiwan.

The Defense Ministry also said it had tracked long-range missiles and ammunition fired on remote islands in Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin.

Earlier in the day, Taiwan’s defense ministry said its forces were alert and monitoring the situation, and sought to avoid an escalation. Civil defense drills was held last week and announcements had been placed at designated air raid shelters months in advance.

The ministry said China’s “irrational behavior” is intended to change the status quo and disrupt the peace and stability of the region.

“The three service sectors will combine efforts with all citizens to jointly protect national security and territorial integrity” while adapting to evolving situations, the statement said.

China’s official Xinhua news agency reported that the drills were joint operations focusing on “blockade, striking sea targets, striking ground targets and controlling airspace.”

Ma Chen-kun, a professor at Taiwan National Defense University, said the drills were aimed at demonstrate the capabilities of the Chinese military deployed precision weapons to sever Taiwan’s links with the outside and facilitate the landing of troops.

The drills were announced as “more complete, and if the People’s Liberation Army does indeed invade Taiwan in an all-out invasion, the specific actions it will take are all within in this particular exercise,” Ma said.

“The main problem is that they will cut off Taiwan’s links with the outside world, from their waters, they will suppress coastal defense fire,” he said.

Meanwhile, the mood in Taiwan is very calm.

In Keelung, a city on Taiwan’s north coast and near two of the announced drill areas, swimmers swam in the morning in a natural pool built over the ocean. .

Lu Chuan-hsiong, 63, enjoying his morning swim, says he’s not worried. “Because of Taiwanese and Chinese, we are all one family. There are a lot of mainlanders here,” he said.

“People should want money, not bullets,” he quipped, saying the economy is not doing well.

Those who had to work on the ocean were more worried. Fishermen are likely to be most affected by the exercises, which cover six different areas around Taiwan, part of which enters the island’s territorial waters.

Most fishermen will continue to try to catch, as this is squid season.

“It’s very close. This will definitely affect us, but if they want to do this, what can we do? We can only avoid that area,” said Chou Ting-tai, owner. a fishing vessel, said.

Although the US has not announced it will intervene, it has bases and deployed assets in the region, including carrier battle groups.

On Thursday, the US Navy said its aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan was operating in the Philippine Sea, east of Taiwan, as part of “normally scheduled operations.”

US law requires the government to treat threats to Taiwan, including the blockade, as matters of “concern”.

The exercises will run from Thursday to Sunday and include missile strikes on targets in the northern and southern waters of the island in an echo of the last major military exercise. China’s last attempt to intimidate Taiwan’s leaders and voters was held in 1995 and 1996.

While China has given no word on the number of troops and military hardware involved, the exercises appear to be the largest held near Taiwan geographically.

The exercise involved the navy, air force, missile force, strategic support force and logistics support force, Xinhua reported.



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