A Taiwanese warship has mistakenly launched a supersonic "aircraft carrier killer" missile toward China on Friday, July 1, hitting a fishing boat and killing the boat's captain.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense apologized on behalf of the military for the incident which China called "a serious matter."
"The Ministry of National Defense sincerely apologizes for the incident that caused the death of the captain (of the boat) and injured other crew members," Major General Chen Chung-Chi said in a news conference. The Taiwanese Navy will be providing assistance and compensation to the family of the victims.
According to Focus Taiwan, the English-language service of state-run Central News Agency, the deceased captain was identified as Huang Wen-Chung. The defense ministry confirmed.
An investigation into the incident has started, Chung-Chi said, adding that the "Hsiung Feng III" missile ripped through the fishing boat but did not explode.
Zhang Zhijun, China's top official in charge of Taiwan Policy, said that Taiwan must provide a "responsible explanation" for the inadvertent launch of the missile, calling it a "serious matter."
Relations between Taiwan (Republic of China) and China (People's Republic of China) have been increasingly tense since the landslide election of Tsai Ing-wen, whose party was traditionally favored formal independence from China.
Photo: AFP via BBC
Source: CNN
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