China flexes muscles with 'Guam killer' missile and more drills near Taiwan

China confirmed on Thursdaythat it had put into a service a new missile that Chinese mediahas dubbed the "Guam killer" for its ability to hit the U.S.Pacific Ocean base with a conventional or nuclear weapon.

China is in the midst of an ambitious modernizationprogramfor its armed forces, developing stealth fighters, aircraft carriers and advanced missiles as it strives to becomea world class military by the middle of the century.

That, along with an increasingly assertive stance in thedisputed South China Sea and around Taiwan, claimed by China asits sacred territory, has rattled nerves around the region andin Washington.

Speaking at a regular monthly news conference, DefenceMinistry spokesperson Wu Qian said that the military had begunputting into service the DF-26 intermediate range ballisticmissile called the "Guam killer" by media and defence experts.

Wu gave few details, aside from that it can carryconventional as well as nuclear warheads and attack targets on land or at sea with precision.

China has made little secret of the DF-26 program. Themissile appeared in a major military parade in Beijing in 2015.

In a separate announcement, China's air force said that itsaircraft had again flown around Taiwan, the latest in a series of exercises Taiwan has described as military intimidation.

Taiwan is one of China's most sensitive issues and apotential military flashpoint.

Over the past year or so, China has ramped up militarydrills around democratic Taiwan, including flying bombers and other military aircraft around the island.

'Combat military drills'

The Chinese air force said in a statement it scrambledfighter jets, early warning aircraft, reconnaissance planes and H-6K bombers from multiple airports for "combat military drills"on Thursday.

The air force said its H-6K bombers had conducted numerousdrills circling Taiwan since April 18 "to improve its ability tosafeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Engaging in Taiwan independence is a dead end.- Wu Qian,Defence Ministry spokesperson

Taiwan's Defence Ministry said it sent planes and ships tomonitor the activity and ensure its maritime and airspace security, and there were no "abnormal situations."

China's hostility towardthe island has grown since the2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.

China has been issuing increasingly strident calls forTaiwan to toe the line, even as Tsai has pledged to maintain the status quo and keep the peace.

On Wednesday, China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said drillsnear Taiwan were designed to send a clear message to the island,and China would take further steps if Taiwan independence forcespersisted in doing as they pleased.

Defence Ministry spokesperson Wu repeated that statement, andadded his own warning.

"Engaging in Taiwan independence is a dead end," he said.