China Taiwan News LIVE Updates: China claims 'precision missile strikes' in Taiwan Strait

The meeting in Phnom Penh of the 10-member bloc, which is being joined by a string of top officials from other countries including China and the United States, has been overshadowed by developments in Taiwan following the visit by the US house speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The websites of the presidential office, foreign ministry and the main government English portal came under attack Tuesday night when Pelosi arrived for a landmark visit that enraged Beijing. Taiwan's defence ministry also said its website was offline for an hour around midnight Wednesday because of a distributed denial of service attack.

South Korea's Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines are cancelling flights to Taiwan for one or two days because of Chinese military exercises in the area, local media reported on Thursday, Korean Air canceled flights between Incheon and Taiwan on Friday and Saturday, while Asiana Airlines canceled Friday's direct flight to Taiwan and will monitor the situation, news agency News1 and other local media reported.

Chinese forces fired "multiple" ballistic missiles into waters around Taiwan during Thursday's military drills, Taipei's defence ministry said, condemning what it described as "irrational actions that undermine regional peace"."The Ministry of National Defence stated that the Chinese Communist Party fired multiple Dongfeng series ballistic missiles into the surrounding waters of northeastern and southwestern Taiwan from approximately 13:56 this afternoon," the defence ministry said in a brief statement.

China's Eastern Theatre Command said it had completed multiple firings of conventional missiles on waters off the eastern coast of Taiwan on Thursday as part of planned exercises. The relevant sea and airspace controls have been lifted after the firing was completed, a spokesperson at the Eastern Theater Command said in a statement.

Taiwan's defense ministry said on Thursday that China had launched several Dongfeng ballistic missiles into waters around Taiwan's northeast and southwest starting from 13:56 local time, amid drills launched earlier on Thursday by Beijing.

The Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday that a meeting between China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Japanese counterpart on the sidelines of ASEAN events in Cambodia had been cancelled.The Chinese side is strongly displeased with the joint statement put out by the Group of Seven nations about Taiwan, said Hua Chunying, spokesperson at the ministry, at a regular media briefing.

Two missiles were launched by China near Taiwan's Matsu islands, which lie off the coast of China, at around 2 pm local time and headed in the direction of the no.2 and no.3 drill zones announced by China, according to an internal Taiwan security report seen be Reuters and confirmed by a security source.

Two missiles were launched by China near Taiwan's Matsu islands, which lie off the coast of China, at around 2 p.m. local time (0600 GMT) in the direction of drill zones announced by China, according to an internal Taiwan security report seen by Reuters and confirmed by a Taiwan security source. Taiwan officials have said the drills violate United Nations rules, invade Taiwan's territorial space and are a direct challenge to free air and sea navigation.

“Long-range armed live fire precision missile strikes were carried out on selected targets in the eastern area of the Taiwan Strait," the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army, the ruling Communist Party's military wing, said in a statement on its social media platform. “The expected outcome was achieved," it added. No other details were given.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has started altering its flight routes to avoid airspace near the Taiwan Strait while China conducts military drills, the company said in a statement on Thursday."Since August 4, in order to ensure operation and flight safety, Vietnam Airlines will adjust flight routes between Vietnam and north-east Asia, including: Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, between Vietnam and the US to avoid flying over some areas near the island of Taiwan," dpa news agency quoted the statement as saying.

After infuriating China over her trip to Taiwan, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met South Korean political leaders in Seoul on Thursday but avoided making direct public comments on cross-Strait relations that could have further increased regional tensions. Pelosi, the first incumbent House speaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years, said on Wednesday in Taipei that the American commitment to democracy on the self-governing island and elsewhere “remains ironclad.”

China's military made multiple brief incursions of the median line dividing the Taiwan Strait starting on Wednesday night and continuing through Thursday morning, a Taiwan source briefed on the matter told Reuters. During that time, about 10 Chinese navy ships briefly crossed the median line before they were "driven away" by Taiwanese navy boats, said the person, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. By midday on Thursday, military vessels from both sides remained in the area and in close proximity.

The Chinese army fired projectiles into the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, AFP journalists saw, as Beijing's military announced "long-range live ammunition firing" in the area. AFP reporters saw several small projectiles fired from the proximity of nearby military installations flying into the sky followed by plumes of white smoke and loud booming sounds.

Chinese navy ships and military aircraft briefly crossed the Taiwan Strait median line on Thursday morning, a Taiwan source briefed on the matter told Reuters on Thursday.Around 10 Chinese navy ships crossed the median line and remained in the area from Wednesday night through midday on Thursday, and multiple Chinese military aircraft briefly crossed the median line on Thursday morning, said the person, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.Taiwan deployed missile systems to track Chinese air force activity near the median line and Taiwanese navy ships remained close to the median line to monitor Chinese navy activity, the person said.

China's Eastern Military Command said on Thursday that it had carried out long-range firing in precision strikes at specific areas in the eastern part of the Taiwan Strait as part of planned exercises.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday called U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan a "manic, irresponsible and highly irrational" action by the United States, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Chinese military exercises around Taiwan are set to disrupt one of the world's busiest shipping zones, analysts told AFP, highlighting the island's critical position in already stretched global supply chains. The drills -- China's largest-ever around Taiwan -- are a major show of strength after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi infuriated Beijing by visiting the island.