#China launches "Dongfeng 17" ballistic missiles during exercises #ukrain #bone

 

Taiwan's Defense Ministry said Thursday that Chinese forces fired "several" ballistic missiles into the waters around Taiwan during Chinese military exercises.

The Taiwanese ministry condemned what it described as "reckless actions that threaten regional peace," according to AFP.

A brief statement issued by the Taiwan Ministry of Defense said that the Chinese Communist Party "launched several batches of Dongfeng ballistic missiles in the waters surrounding northeastern and northwestern Taiwan, starting at about 13:45," according to the island's local time.

The Taiwanese military did not confirm the exact location of where the missiles landed or whether they had flown over the island, which China considers an integral part of its territory.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army also confirmed the launch of the missiles.

The spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command of Operations, Colonel Shi Yi, said that the Chinese forces launched an "attack with the power of conventional multi-model missiles on predetermined sea areas off the eastern part of the island of Taiwan," according to AFP.

 

"All the missiles hit the target accurately, and the accuracy of the strike and the barriers to entering the area were tested," Colonel Shi added.

The day before, the Chinese newspaper "Global Times" wrote that the army will for the first time use long-range combat artillery near Taiwan and will use the "Dongfong 17" supersonic missile.

And the Taiwan Defense Ministry said earlier today, Thursday, that the Chinese forces launched a number of missiles in the vicinity of the island of Taiwan, adding that related defense systems were activated in response to the Chinese missile launch.

And journalists from Agence France-Presse reported that the Chinese army launched projectiles towards the Taiwan Strait, with the start of large-scale military exercises around the island, which China considers an integral part of its territory.

 

Also earlier Thursday, a well-informed source told Reuters that the Chinese army made several rapid incursions into the demarcation line that divides the Taiwan Strait, from Wednesday evening until Thursday morning.

The source, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said that about 10 ships of the Chinese navy briefly crossed the dividing line before being "removed" by Taiwanese navy boats.

By Thursday afternoon, military ships from both sides remained in the area and close to each other.

"(Chinese ships infiltrated the dividing line) and we forced them to move away," the source said.

He added that many aircraft of the Chinese Air Force crossed the demarcation line several times Thursday morning, which prompted Taiwan to deploy fighter planes and air defense systems to track the movement of Chinese aircraft.