Exclusive | Chinese military fires ‘aircraft-carrier killer’ missile into South China Sea in ‘warning to the United States’

Weapon one of two sent over disputed waters a day after American spy plane reportedly nears Chinese naval drill, source says

PLA flexes muscle in response to continued US testing of Beijing’s bottom lines, analyst says

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A DF-26 missile was from Qinghai into the South China Sea on Tuesday, according to a source close to the Chinese military. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:00pm, 26 Aug 2020Updated: 9:45am, 27 Aug 2020

China launched two missiles, including an “aircraft-carrier killer”, into the South China Sea on Wednesday morning, a source close to the Chinese military said, sending a clear warning to the United States.

The move came one day after China said a US U-2 spy plane entered a no-fly zone without permission during a Chinese live-fire naval drill in the Bohai Sea off its north coast.

One of the missiles, a DF-26B, was launched from the northwestern province of Qinghai, while the other, a DF-21D, lifted off from Zhejiang province in the east.

Both were fired into an area between Hainan province and the Paracel Islands, the source said.

The missiles were fired one day after a Lockheed U-2 (pictured) flew through the area. Photo: Wikimedia

The landing areas were within a zone that Hainan maritime safety authorities said on Friday would be off limits because of military exercises from Monday to Saturday.

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.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Exclusive | Chinese military fires ‘aircraft-carrier killer’ missile into South China Sea in ‘warning to the United States’

Exclusive | Chinese military fires ‘aircraft-carrier killer’ missile into South China Sea in ‘warning to the United States’