Japanese Defense Minister Nobu Kishi said Thursday that Chinese ballistic missiles have landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone for the first time.
• Read also: China launched “multiple” ballistic missiles into the waters around Taiwan
“Five of the nine ballistic missiles launched by China are suspected to have landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone,” Keshi told reporters, while China began major military exercises in the waters around Taiwan after the visit of Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense also announced that four of these five ballistic missiles “would have flown over the island of Taiwan.”
“Japan has lodged a protest with China through diplomatic channels,” Kishi said, describing the incident as a “serious issue affecting our national security and the security of our citizens.”
Some islands in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan’s southernmost, are only a few dozen kilometers from Taiwan, and the minister said this is the first time that Chinese ballistic missiles have entered Japan’s exclusive economic zone, which extends up to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers). ) from its coasts.
He said Japan evaluated the number of nine missiles, adding that five of them appeared to have crashed southwest of the Japanese island of Hatruma.
The minister declined to comment on China’s intentions over the military exercises, describing them as “extremely dangerous.”
China on Thursday began military exercises of an unprecedented scale around Taiwan in response to the visit of Ms Pelosi, who stayed Tuesday and Wednesday night on the island despite strong warnings from Beijing, of which Taiwan is one of its provinces.
China views Ms Pelosi’s move as a provocation, support for Taiwan independence supporters, and a backsliding from the United States’ promise not to establish formal relations with the island.
In response, the Chinese military launched a series of military exercises in six maritime zones across Taiwan, along busy trade routes and sometimes just 20 kilometers from Taiwan’s shores.
Chinese military spokesman Shi Yi said the exercises, which began at noon Thursday (0400 GMT), included “conventional missile launches” into waters off Taiwan’s east coast.
Japan had already expressed its “concern” on Wednesday, when China announced the sea area that would be affected by its maneuvers.
