China Fires Several Waves of Missiles Over Taiwan Strait After Visit from Nancy Pelosi

Chinese soldiers wearing masks guard the entrance to the military museum in Beijing on Aug. 1. China says military exercises by its navy, air force and other departments are underway in six zones surrounding Taiwan. (Ng Han Guan/AP)

China has fired several waves of missiles over the Taiwan Strait, hitting targets in the waters that encircle the island of Taiwan after a visit from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi triggered a tense military standoff in the East Asia region.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry confirmed 11 Chinese Dongfeng type missiles were fired in Taiwan’s direction between 1:56 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon, local time. Taiwan’s armed forces said it was on high alert status, monitoring Chinese military activity in the region, and that the island’s long-range radar had detected the incoming missiles.

“We condemn such irrational action that has jeopardized regional peace,” Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Five of the missiles fired landed in waters around Taiwan that are part of the Exclusive Economic Zone that Japan oversees and claims economic rights over, risking drawing Japan, a U.S. ally, into the standoff.

“This is a grave issue that concerns our country’s national security and the safety of the people,” Japan’s Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said, per Kyodo News.

Japan has steadily taken a more assertive approach to national defense and security during the last two years, in large part due to China’s threats to Taiwan.

“We have to protect Taiwan, as a democratic country,” Yasuhide Nakayama, Japan’s deputy defense minister, said at a conference in June 2021.

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SOURCE: NPR, Emily Feng