Japan says Chinese missile drills near Taiwan ‘grave problem,’ threat to regional peace

The Wall Street Journal reports that five ballistic missiles landed in Japan's "exclusive economic zone" which extends 200 nautical miles out from the coast of the Okinawa islands.

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said China's military escalation created "serious threats to Japan’s national security and the safety of the Japanese people."

"China’s actions this time have a serious impact on the peace and stability of the region and the international community," said Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi as he called for the CCP to halt their drills according to CNBC.

China's war games began after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan on August 2 despite warnings from China that it could be considered an act of aggression. Chinese President Xi Jinping told Joe Biden directly that "Those who play with fire will only get burnt."

On August 4, just one day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan, the Chinese Communist Party claimed it successfully executed "precision missile strikes" in the Taiwan Strait. Chinese fighters, bombers, destroyers, and frigates were all used in joint blockage operations across six zones off the Taiwanese coast.

As part of their military drills, China fired 11 missiles on Thursday and deployed 68 planes in the air while on Friday 49 Chinese aircraft penetrated Taiwan's "air defence identification zone."

Over the weekend, China used roughly 14 warships in military drills in the Taiwan Strait with 20 active planes on Saturday and 66 active planes on Sunday. Taiwan’s defense ministry reported that on Saturday at least 14 planes crossed over the "median line" that acts as the unofficial boundary between China and Taiwan.

China has also canceled scheduled calls with the US and sanctioned Nancy Pelosi.

The Daily Mail reports that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "Countries around the world believe escalation serves no one and could have unintended consequences that serve no one’s interests.I hope very much Beijing will not manufacture a crisis or seek a pretext to increase its aggressive military activity."

Chinese state-run outlet, the Global Times, has described China's actions as a "‘rehearse reunification operation" while Taiwanese politician Wang Ting-yu has said, "we are prepared. If you dare to do something stupid, you will fail and the price is too high. Taiwan’s sincere hope is that we can keep the peace and our sovereignty forever."

Some Chinese missiles launched over the weekend are part of China's Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), which are believed to be the Chinese version of HIMARS, which the US has sent to Ukraine to battle Russia and are very accurate weapons.