Chinese missiles flew over Taiwan during military maneuvers carried out by Beijing in response to the Taipei visit of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to Chinese state media.
Pelosi angered Chinese officials by visiting Taiwan, where she stayed less than 24 hours between Tuesday and Wednesday.
China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory, began the most important military exercises in its history in six regions around the island on Thursday.
The Chinese military and government have yet to officially confirm that the missiles flew over Taiwan during the maneuvers. Taiwanese authorities also refused to confirm the information.
However, Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Friday that Chinese “planes and warships” had crossed the “midline” of the Taiwan Strait, which separates the island from the mainland. The ministry condemned the “highly provocative” military exercises.
Of the nine detected missiles, “four will fly over the main island of Taiwan,” Japan’s defense ministry said.
“This time our exercises involved real ammunition. And we flew over Taiwan for the first time,” Meng Xiangqinq, a professor at the military’s National Defense University, told Chinese state-run CCTV.
Military maneuvers are supposed to continue until noon (local time) on Sunday. So far, China has ignored protests from the US and its allies.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described China’s military exercises near Taiwan as a “significant escalation”.
Blinken said there was “no justification” for the exercises Beijing initiated after Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
“These provocative actions are a significant escalation,” Blinken said after talks with Southeast Asian countries’ foreign ministers in Cambodia. said.
For the American secretary, China is trying to change the fragile “status quo” regarding Taiwan.
During his last meeting in Indonesia, he said he had warned Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that Pelosi was likely to visit the island.
“The fact is that the visit of the Speaker of the House of Representatives was peaceful. There is no justification for this excessive, disproportionate and escalating military intervention.”
Blinken also said that the US stance on Taiwan has not changed and that the country will not be “provoked” by China’s actions.
source: Noticias
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