China fires a barrage of reported 'carrier-killer' missiles into the South China Sea as US-China tensions flare

• China fired a barrage of medium-range missiles into the South China Sea on Wednesday, a US defense official told Insider.
• According to the South China Morning Post, the missiles were anti-ship missiles, specifically the DF-26B and DF-21D.
• A US defense official said the launch appeared to be part of a planned exercise, but it comes amid elevated tensions between the US and China in the strategic waterway.
• On Thursday, the US Navy destroyer USS Mustin conducted a freedom-of-navigation operation near the contested Paracel Islands, challenging "unlawful restrictions" imposed by China and others, the US Navy said in a statement.

The Chinese military fired four midrange missiles into the contested waters of the South China Sea on Wednesday, a US defense official told Insider Thursday.

The Pentagon is still assessing which types of missiles were fired, but the South China Morning Post, citing a source close to the Chinese military, reported the missiles, which hit between Hainan Island and the Paracel Islands, were anti-ship missiles.

SCMP reported the missiles were DF-26B and DF-21D ballistic missiles, weapons sometimes referred to as "carrier-killer" missiles that have estimated ranges of 4,000 km and 1,800 km, respectively.

A US defense official told Insider that Wednesday's missile launch appeared to have been part of a planned exercise, rather than a reaction to a specific incident. While that may be the case, the launch comes at a time of heightened tensions between the US and China.

In mid-July, the US State Department drew Beijing's ire with a sharply worded statement rejecting China's vast claims to the South China Sea and condemning China's "predatory" moves to get its way in the strategic waterway. Beijing called the statement "irresponsible."

A day later, a US Navy destroyer conducted a freedom-of-navigation operation challenging China's claims to the disputed Spratly Islands.

The US also been regularly sending carrier strike groups into the South China Sea lately. In July, China's Foreign Ministry accused the US of sending "large fleets of advanced military vessels and aircraft to the South China Sea to flex its muscles and stir up troubles."

A source close to the Chinese military told SCMP that Wednesday's missile launch was "China's response to the potential risks brought by the increasingly frequent incoming US warplanes and military vessels in the South China Sea."

In early July, China's state-affiliated Global Times said the "South China Sea is fully within the grasp of the Chinese People's Liberation Army" and that "any US aircraft carrier movement in the region is solely at the pleasure of the PLA."

The paper pointed to Chinese anti-ship missiles, specifically the DF-21D and DF-26.

The US Navy responded on Twitter, writing that it is "not intimidated" by the Chinese arsenal and the carriers are there "at our discretion."

Later that month, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said, "American aircraft carriers have been in the South China Sea in the Indo-Pacific since World War II and will continue to be there, and we are not going to be stopped by anybody."

Commenting on China's missile launch, Vice Adm. Scott Conn, the commander of the US Navy's 3rd Fleet, said Wednesday, "The US Navy has 38 ships underway today in the Indo-Pacific region, including the South China Sea."

He said: "We continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international laws allow to demonstrate our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and reassure our allies and partners."

On Thursday, the US Navy destroyer USS Mustin conducted a freedom-of-navigation operation near the contested Paracel Islands, challenging "unlawful restrictions" imposed by China and others, the US Navy said in a statement.

China took control of the Paracels by force in the 1970s and has since constructed military outposts in the area, as the country has done elsewhere in the region.

The US Department of Commerce issued a statement Wednesday announcing sanctions against 24 Chinese companies involved in Chinese island building in the South China Sea, further escalating tensions.

"The United States, China's neighbors, and the international community have rebuked the CCP's sovereignty claims to the South China Sea and have condemned the building of artificial islands for the Chinese military," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry criticized the move, calling it "unjustified," and accused the US of "meddling in China's internal affairs." A spokesman said, "China will take firm measures to safeguard Chinese businesses and citizens' lawful interests."

China has also expressed concerns in recent days about an American U-2 spy plane that it said flew through a no-fly zone near a Chinese military exercise in the Bohai Sea earlier this week, calling it an "obvious provocation."

Speaking at a press briefing Thursday, Senior Colonel Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, said, "The US has increased its efforts to pressurize and provoke China."

He added, "The Chinese stance is always clear in this regard: We oppose and are unafraid of the US provocations."