China launches multiple ballistic missiles amid fears of ‘accidental WW3’

2022-08-04

China's People's Liberation Army has launched multiple ballistic missiles in its biggest-ever live-fire military drill less than 24 hours after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's controversial visit to Taiwan.

The four-day military exercises started on early Thursday morning (August 4) as the country's ruler, Xi Jinping, vowed to "reunify Taiwan island".

Videos taken by locals living in the southern Chinese province of Fujian show the mass-scale of missile batteries firing from the coast of Pingtan Island.

READ MORE: Huge tanks patrol over Chinese beach in chilling 'show of force' to the US and Taiwan

One fisherman is filmed watching rounds of ballistic missiles launching towards the Taiwanese waters as he stands at his fish farm not far from the coast.

The weapons leave a long trail of smokes in the sky.

In further mobile phone footage, residents watch the military drill in awe and can be heard saying: "Woah! Witnessing history right now!"

Beachgoers take their phones out to take photos of the missiles while lounging on the sunbeds.

The drills sparked fears of an "accidental World War III" as a single miscalculation could spiral into open conflicts and unpredictable consequences among major powers, said foreign ministers from the ASEAN group of nations, which covers 10 countries in south-east Asia including Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.

The ballistic missiles were launched by the Rocket Force of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

A spokesperson for PLA said: "The missile launches tested the Rocket Force's strike precision and area denial capabilities.

"The relevant sea and airspace control off the eastern coast of Taiwan island has been lifted since the live-fire missile drills have hit the targets precisely."

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Taiwan's Defense Military confirmed that the Chinese military had launched “several ballistic" and "long-range" missiles into waters around Taiwan's northeast and southwest around 1.56pm local time.

On Tuesday (August 2), Beijing had sent out a huge patrol of tanks as a "show of force" to Taiwan and the US when Ms Pelosi was heading towards Taiwan from Malaysia.

The US House Speaker is the third-highest ranking official in the US government and a long-time critic of Beijing, who has warned that the US would "pay the price" for her visit.

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