Taiwan on alert over ‘multiple waves’ of missile firing in inland China
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A man at a cafe listening to a news broadcast announcing new Chinese military drills around Taiwan, in Keelung.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TAIPEI – Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said on Sept 29 that it was on alert after detecting “multiple waves” of missile firing deep in inland China, days after Beijing said it had carried out a successful test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Democratically governed Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, keeps a close watch on Chinese military drills, given Beijing’s regular activities around the island, but only rarely releases details of what it sees taking place inside China.
The ministry said starting at 6.50am local time, it detected “multiple waves of firing” by China’s rocket force and army in the provinces and regions of Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang, which all lie at least 2,000km from Taiwan.
Taiwan’s forces are “continuously monitoring relevant developments and air defence forces have maintained a high level of vigilance and strengthened their alert”, the ministry added in a statement.
The rocket force is in charge of China’s conventional and nuclear missile arsenal.
On Sept 26, Taiwan’s Defence Ministry raised the alarm over a renewed surge of Chinese military activity around the island and live fire drills, accusing Beijing of policy instability.
China’s military responded by saying its activities around Taiwan were “legitimate” and its drills would continue.
A day earlier, China said it successfully conducted a rare launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean.
In August 2022, China fired missiles into waters around Taiwan during war games
Taiwan operates powerful radar stations on some of the peaks of its central mountain range that can look far into China, according to security sources. REUTERS
