US President Donald Trump's administration has persistently disputed China's sovereignty over the South China Sea, which serves as a lifeline to all the Asian countries.
WASHINGTON: Just before the US imposed a visa ban on Chinese government members in response to the militarization of the South China Sea, Beijing had fired two missiles, including an 'aircraft-carrier killer', into the disputed sea.
As per a South China Morning Post (SCMP) report, China fired one intermediate-range ballistic missile, DF-26B, from Qinghai province and another medium-range ballistic missile, DF-21D, from Zhejiang on Wednesday into the sea, provoking the US to take an unprecedented action against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime, People's Liberation Army (PLA) and their businesses.
The DF-26B missile is capable of smashing moving targets at the sea, according to the Global Times, the mouthpiece of the CCP. The missile's destruction capabilities have given it the name 'aircraft-carrier killer'.
China's Defence Ministry spokesperson, Senior Colonel Wu Qian, has claimed that the missile can carry conventional or nuclear warheads and is capable of launching precision strikes against targets on land and sea.
The missile has a range of 4,500 km, which effectively means that it can reach the West Pacific and the Indian Ocean, as well as American facilities in Guam, the British island of Diego Garcia and even the Australian city of Darwin.
The DF-21 is also an anti-ship ballistic missile system, meant for destroying moving ships at sea.
The CCP justified the firing of the two missiles in the area between Hainan province and the disputed Paracel Islands, by arguing that it was in response to the US U-2 spy plane flying in the Chinese-designated "no-fly zone" on Tuesday when China was conducting a live-fire naval drill conducted in the Bohai Sea off its north coast.
US President Donald Trump's administration has persistently disputed China's sovereignty over the South China Sea, which serves as a lifeline to all the Asian countries. The relationship between the two countries countries has deteriorated to a historic low since China attempted to initially cover up the coronavirus pandemic which originated in its Wuhan city, Hubei province, from where it spread to the whole world. (IANS)