Two missiles were launched by China near Taiwan’s Matsu islands, which lie off the coast of China, at around 2 pm local time, reported Reuters.
Earlier, reports said that Chinese navy ships and military aircraft briefly crossed the Taiwan Strait median line on Thursday morning and Taiwan has deployed missile systems and navy ships to monitor Beijing’s activity.
The development comes a day after a visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as Chinese territory.
Meanwhile, China has launched unprecedented live-fire military drills in six areas that ring Taiwan Thursday, which Taiwan has termed as a violation of United Nations rules, an invasion of Taiwan’s territorial space and a direct challenge to free air and sea navigation. The drills started at 0400 GMT (9.30 am IST) and would end at 0400 GMT on Sunday, said China’s state broadcaster CCTV, as per a report by The Indian Express.
In a tense trip, Pelosi landed in Taipei with her congressional delegation late on Tuesday, defying China’s repeated warnings against the visit.
As per the report, Pelosi pledged solidarity and hailed Taiwan’s democracy and said that the US will not abandon its commitment to the self-governing island.
