Details of the launch were being analysed by South Korean and US intelligence authorities, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
A tactical guided missile is launched, according to state media, at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Photo: KCNA via Reuters)
North Korea fired several cruise missiles towards the Yellow Sea in the early hours of Saturday, according to the South Korean military.
Details of the launch were being analysed by South Korean and US intelligence authorities, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
It was the latest in a series of missile tests and military exercises conducted by the North in recent weeks, including a failed spy satellite launch late last month.
Seoul announced sanctions on Friday on five North Korean individuals and one company in response to Pyongyang’s launch of what it said was a space rocket last month.
A United States Marine Corps aircraft with 23 Marines aboard crashed on a north Australian island Sunday, killing at least three and critically injuring at least five during a multinational training exercise, officials said.
Three had been confirmed dead on Melville Island and five were flown in serious condition 80 kilometers (50 miles) to the mainland city of Darwin for hospital treatment after the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey aircraft crashed around 9:30 a.m., a statement from the Marines said.
“Recovery efforts are ongoing,” the statement said, adding the cause of the crash was under investigation.
Aircraft had been sent from Darwin to retrieve more survivors from the remote location but no further details on the fate of the other 15 Marines on board had been released hours later.
A U.S. military official reported to Australian air traffic controllers a “significant fire in the vicinity of the crash site,” according to an audio recording of the conversation broadcast by Nine News television.
Melville resident Shane Murphy was fishing from a beach when the Osprey crashed and told Australian Broadcasting Corp. he saw a “big mushroom of black smoke” rise from the wreckage.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said no one on board had escaped injury.
One of the injured was undergoing surgery at the Royal Darwin Hospital, Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said around six hours after the crash.
“We acknowledge that this is a terrible incident,” Fyles said. “The Northern Territory government stands by to offer whatever assistance is required.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said only Americans were injured in the crash during Exercise Predators Run, which involves the militaries of the United States, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and East Timor.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the three U.S. service personnel who lost their lives, those who have been injured, the rest of the crew and indeed the entire United States armed forces,” Albanese said in a statement.
“Australia will continue to provide assistance to our friends for as long as is required,” he added.
Around 150 U.S. Marines are currently based in Darwin and up to 2,500 rotate through the city every year. They’re part of a realignment of forces in the Asia-Pacific that’s broadly meant to face an increasingly assertive China.
The 12-day exercise is scheduled to end Sept. 7. It involves troops on land, in the sea and in the air. The exercise has been paused since the crash.
The Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter, but during flight can rotate its propellers forward and cruise much faster like an airplane. Versions of the aircraft are flown by the U.S. Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force.
Before Sunday, there had been five fatal crashes of Marine Ospreys since 2012, causing a total of 16 deaths.
The latest was in June 2022, when five Marines died in a fiery crash in a remote part of California east of San Diego. A crash investigation report last month found that the tragedy was caused by a mechanical failure related to a clutch.
More than 40 Chinese warplanes flew over Taiwan’s air defence zone on Saturday, as part of military drills that Taiwan called “irrational and provocative”.
About 26 Chinese aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan’s ministry of defence said.
It said Beijing was trying to influence Taiwan’s upcoming election.
China said the drills would test its forces’ ability to fight in “combat conditions”, state media reported.
The People’s Liberation Army “launched joint air and sea patrols and military exercises of the navy and air force around the island of Taiwan” on Saturday, military spokesperson Shi Yi is quoted by Xinhua as saying.
The exercises would serve as a “stern warning to the collusion of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists with foreign elements and their provocations”, he added.
It follows Chinese anger at a recent stopover by Taiwan’s vice president, William Lai, in the United States. China previously launched major military exercises after Nancy Pelosi, then US House speaker, visited Taiwan last year and again when President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.
Mr Lai, a frontrunner in Taiwan’s upcoming presidential election in January, was visiting the US on a trip to Paraguay.
China said Mr Lai was a “troublemaker” and that it would take “resolute measures” to “safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Despite China’s claim to sovereignty over the island, Taiwan governs itself. It described China’s military exercise as “irrational and provocative behaviour”.
Taiwan said it would dispatch “appropriate forces” to respond “with practical actions” – adding that the national army was using reconnaissance methods to “strictly control” the situation.
“Conducting a military exercise this time under a pretext not only does not help the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, but also highlights (China’s) militaristic mentality and confirms the hegemonic nature of its military expansion,” Taiwan’s defence ministry said.
A Chinese aircraft takes part in a drill around Taiwan
China has simulated precision strikes against key targets on Taiwan and its surrounding waters during a second day of military drills.
The drills – which Beijing has called a “stern warning” to the self-governing island – are a response to Taiwan’s president visiting the US last week.
As the Chinese military simulated an encirclement of the island, the US urged China to show restraint.
Taiwan said about 70 Chinese aircraft flew around the island on Sunday.
Eleven Chinese ships were also spotted.
On Saturday, Taiwan said that 45 warplanes either crossed the Taiwan Strait median line – the unofficial dividing line between Taiwanese and Chinese territory – or flew into the south-western part of Taiwan’s air defence identification zone.
The operation, dubbed “Joint Sword” by Beijing, will continue until Monday. Taiwanese officials have been enraged by the operation.
On Saturday defence officials in Taipei accused Beijing of using President Tsai’s US visit as an “excuse to conduct military exercises, which has seriously undermined peace, stability and security in the region”.
On day one of the drills, one of China’s ships fired a round as it sailed near Pingtan island, China’s closest point to Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, which runs the Coast Guard, issued video footage showing one of its ships shadowing a Chinese warship, though did not provide a location.
In the footage a sailor can be heard telling the Chinese ship through a radio: “You are seriously harming regional peace, stability and security. Please immediately turn around and leave. If you continue to proceed we will take expulsion measures.”
Other footage showed a Taiwanese warship, the Di Hua, accompanying the Coast Guard ship in what the Coast Guard officer calls a “standoff” with the Chinese vessel.
While the Chinese exercises ended by sundown on Saturday evening, defence officials in Taipei said fighter jet sorties started again early on Sunday morning.
US state department officials have urged China not to exploit President Tsai’s US visit, and have called for “restraint and no change to the status quo”.
A state department spokesperson said the US was “monitoring Beijing’s actions closely” and insisted the US had “sufficient resources and capabilities in the region to ensure peace and stability and to meet our national security commitments”.
The US severed diplomatic ties with Taipei in favour of Beijing in 1979, but it is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
US President Joe Biden has said on several occasion that the US would intervene if China attacked the island, but US messaging has been murky.
At Wednesday’s meeting in California, Ms Tsai thanked US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for America’s “unwavering support”, saying it helped “reassure the people of Taiwan that we are not isolated and we are not alone”.
Mr McCarthy had originally planned to go to Taiwan himself, but opted instead to hold the meeting in California to avoid inflaming tensions with China.
Chinese state media said the military drills, which are due to run until Monday, would “simultaneously organise patrols and advances around Taiwan island, shaping an all-round encirclement and deterrence posture”.
It added that “long-range rocket artillery, naval destroyers, missile boats, air force fighters, bombers, jammers and refuellers” had all been deployed by China’s military.
But in Taiwan’s capital Taipei, residents seemed unperturbed by China’s latest manoeuvres.
“I think many Taiwanese have gotten used to it by now, the feeling is like, here we go again!” Jim Tsai said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Michael Chuang said: “They [China] seems to like doing it, circling Taiwan like it’s theirs. I am used to it now.
“If they invade we can’t escape anyway. We’ll see what the future holds and go from there.”
Taiwan’s status has been ambiguous since 1949, when the Chinese Civil War turned in favour of the Chinese Communist Party and the country’s old ruling government retreated to the island.
Taiwan has since considered itself a sovereign state, with its own constitution and leaders. China sees it as a breakaway province that will eventually be brought under Beijing’s control – by force if necessary.
[1/8] An aircraft of the Air Force under the Eastern Theatre Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) attends a combat readiness patrols and “Joint Sword” exercises around Taiwan, from an undisclosed location in this handout image released on April 8, 2023. Eastern Theatre Command/Handout via REUTERSForty-two Chinese fighter jets briefly crossed the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait on Saturday as China began drills around Taiwan in anger at President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The three-day drills, announced the day after Tsai returned from the United States, had been widely expected after China condemned her Wednesday meeting with Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan’s government strongly objects to China’s claims.
Beijing’s announcement also came just hours after China hosted a visit by senior European leaders.
The People’s Liberation Army said it had started the combat readiness patrols and “Joint Sword” exercises around Taiwan, having said earlier it would be holding them in the Taiwan Strait and to the north, south and east of Taiwan “as planned”.
Chinese state media released what it said was footage of the drills, set to stirring martial music and showing warships at sea and fighter jets doing airborne refuelling. Reuters could not authenticate when or where the material was shot.
SITUATION ‘AS EXPECTED’
There was no broader sense of alarm in Taiwan about the drills, where people are long accustomed to Chinese threats.
China had threatened unspecified retaliation if the meeting with McCarthy – second in line to succeed the U.S. president, after the vice president – were to take place. Beijing staged war games around Taiwan, including live-fire missile launches, in August after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei.
A senior Taiwan official familiar with security planning in the region told Reuters the aircraft had only crossed the median line briefly, while the ships had already turned back, unlike in August when vessels from both navies engaged in stand-offs.
The situation was “as expected” and manageable, and Taiwan’s government has rehearsed various scenarios for its response, the person said on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
Reuters reporters in a seaside area near Fuzhou, opposite the Taiwan-controlled Matsu islands, saw a Chinese warship firing shells onto a drill area on China’s coast, part of drills announced by China late on Friday.
Tsai, hosting a lunch on Saturday with a visiting U.S. lawmaker delegation, led by Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said she looked forward to strengthening security cooperation with the United States.
“I would like to reiterate that the people of Taiwan love democracy and seek peace,” she said, without directly mentioning the drills in comments before television cameras.
Tsai has repeatedly offered talks with China but has been rebuffed as the government views her as a separatist. She says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.
The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, said in a commentary on Saturday that the government has “a strong ability to thwart any form of Taiwan independence secession”.
“All countermeasures taken by the Chinese government belong to China’s legitimate and legal right to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it said.
DIPLOMACY AND DRILLS
Unlike in August, China has yet to announce whether it will also stage missile drills. When China announced the previous drills, it published a map showing which maritime areas near Taiwan it would be firing into.
The security source said April is when China typically carries out military exercises.
Taiwanese officials had expected a less severe reaction to the McCarthy meeting, given it took place in the United States, but they had said they could not rule out the possibility of China staging more drills.
China’s announcement came hours after French President Emmanuel Macron left China, where he met President Xi Jinping and other senior leaders. Macron urged Beijing to talk sense to Russia over the war in Ukraine.
[1/6] A Chinese warship sails during a military drill near Fuzhou, Fujian Province, near the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands that are close to the Chinese coast, China, April 8, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas PeterChina began three days of military exercises around Taiwan on Saturday to express anger at Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, as the island’s defence ministry said it would respond calmly.
The drills, announced the day after Tsai returned from the United States, had been widely expected after China condemned the meeting with Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan’s government strongly objects to China’s claims.
Beijing’s announcement also came just hours after China hosted a visit by senior European leaders.
The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command said it had started the combat readiness patrols and “Joint Sword” exercises around Taiwan, having said earlier it would be holding them in the Taiwan Strait and to the north, south and east of Taiwan “as planned”.
“This is a serious warning to the Taiwan independence separatist forces and external forces’ collusion and provocation, and it is a necessary action to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it said in a short statement.
Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said it was monitoring the situation, maintaining a high degree of vigilance and would respond appropriately to defend the island’s security.
China was using Tsai’s U.S. visit “as an excuse to carry out military exercises, which has seriously damaged regional peace, stability and security”, the ministry said in a statement.
“The military will respond with a calm, rational and serious attitude, and will stand guard and monitor in accordance with the principles of ‘not escalating nor disputes’ to defend national sovereignty and national security.”
The ministry said earlier on Saturday that in the previous 24 hours it had spotted four Chinese aircraft in Taiwan’s air defence zone, not an unusual number.
Reuters reporters in a seaside area near Fuzhou, which sits opposite the Taiwan-controlled Matsu islands, saw a Chinese warship firing shells onto a drill area on China’s coast, part of drills announced by China late on Friday.
Tsai will meet visiting U.S. lawmaker delegation, led by Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, later on Saturday.
DIPLOMACY AND DRILLS
The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, said in a commentary on Saturday that the government has “a strong ability to thwart any form of Taiwan independence secession”.
“All countermeasures taken by the Chinese government belong to China’s legitimate and legal right to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it said.
Tsai has repeatedly offered talks with China but has been rebuffed as the government views her as a separatist. She says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.
China had threatened unspecified retaliation if the meeting with McCarthy – second in line to succeed the U.S. president, after the vice president – were to take place. Beijing staged war games around Taiwan, including live-fire missile launches, in August after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei.
However, unlike in August, China has yet to announce whether it will also stage missile drills. In the previous instance, China published a map at the time it announced the drills, showing which maritime areas near Taiwan it would be firing into.
Taiwanese officials had expected a less severe reaction to the McCarthy meeting, given it took place in the United States, but they had said they could not rule out the possibility of China staging more drills.
China’s announcement came hours after French President Emmanuel Macron left China, where he met President Xi Jinping and other senior leaders. Macron urged Beijing to talk sense to Russia over the war in Ukraine.
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen, also in China this week to meet Xi, said stability in the Taiwan Strait was of paramount importance.
