Japan's prime minister on Friday condemned China's firing of ballistic missiles during military drills around Taiwan, calling them a "serious problem that impacts our national security and the safety of our citizens."

For more analysis on the heightened tensions in the Taiwan Strait, FRANCE 24 is joined by military security expert Zhaohan Shen. "The scale of this exercise is unprecedented," explains Mr. Shen. "This is the first time we had long-range ballistic missiles shot over the medium line separating the Taiwanese island and mainland China." Mr. Shen describes China's deployment of fighter jets and barrage of missiles flying over Taiwan's capital city, with additional missiles landing in the waters of Japan's economic exclusive zone (EEZ), as a "historic" move to "show off its military strength." He says that China's actions only serve to "escalate tensions both diplomatically and militarily with the Taiwanese authorities."