PLA rockets land inside Taiwan's 24 nautical mile contiguous zone: MND

Taipei, Dec. 30 (CNA) Taiwan's military on Tuesday said the People's Liberation Army (PLA) fired 27 rockets during the second day of its latest military drill near Taiwan, with 10 landing at sea within the nation's 24-nautical mile contiguous zone, making it the closest ever Chinese live-fire exercise.

Lt. Gen. Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升), deputy chief of the general staff for intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense (MND), said at a news briefing that the PLA fired a total of 27 rockets in two batches using multiple rocket launchers from the Pingtan and Shishi areas in Fujian Province Tuesday morning and afternoon, respectively.

Seventeen missiles were fired from Pingtan starting at 9 a.m., all of which fell into the sea off northern Taiwan in a PLA-designated drill zone, outside the 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone.

The 10 missiles launched from Shishi starting 1 p.m., all landed in a PLA-designated drill zone southwest of Taiwan, within the 24-nautical-mile zone, in the sea off southern Tainan City, according to Hsieh.

Hsieh also said that is the closest PLA rockets have ever come to Taiwan proper in recent live-fire exercises, when asked by reporters to confirm if that is the case.

The contiguous zone is defined as extending up to 24 nautical miles from a coastal baseline when combined with the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea, allowing coastal states to exercise customs, immigration, health, and sanitation laws.

The military official made the comments during the MND press briefing, held a day after the PLA announced early Monday the start of a new round of joint exercises around Taiwan, code-named "Justice Mission 2025."

• 90 PLA warplanes cross Taiwan Strait median line as China stages drills

Beginning at 7:30 a.m. Monday, the exercises were to serve as a "stern warning to 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces," PLA Eastern Theater Command spokesperson Senior Colonel Shi Yi (施毅) said in a statement.

The PLA Eastern Theater Command also announced earlier Monday that it would conduct live-fire drills in waters and airspace around Taiwan from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, warning vessels and aircraft not to enter the designated drill areas.

As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, Hsieh said Taiwan's military had detected 13 PLA naval vessels, 15 coast guard vessels, and 71 military aircraft operating around Taiwan.

Of the 71 aircraft, 35 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

An ADIZ is a self-declared area where a country claims the right to identify, locate and control approaching foreign aircraft, but is not part of its territorial airspace as defined by international law.

Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) at the press event said the CGA closely monitored the movement of the 15 Chinese patrol boats.

Eight of the 15 PLA vessels briefly breached the 24 nautical-mile line but were promptly warned away, he added.

Lt. Gen. Lien Chih-wei (連志威), deputy chief of general staff for operations and planning under the MND, said Taiwan's armed forces established an ad hoc emergency operations center following the PLA's announcement of drills early Monday to respond to developments, and to safeguard key infrastructure in Taiwan.