China has flexed its military muscle amid Donald Trump’s preparations for the White House by launching ten ballistic missiles.

Flight tests were carried out on the medium-range DF-21C missiles late last month, as the President-elect announced some of his senior Government officials including the decorated Gen. James Mattis as his defense secretary.

These weapons have a range of about 1,000 miles and are capable of firing a manoeuvring warhead.

News of the tests were announced on Central China Television, and the official Xinhua news agency said the weapons ‘can destroy U.S. Asia-Pacific bases at any time.’

China military expert James Fisher is quoted in the Washington Free Beacon as saying: ‘The PLA is banging some drums to provide background for military psychological warfare.’

Before he has even started his presidency, Trump has already broken decades of foreign policy and spoke with the president of Taiwan, prompting a protest from the Chinese.

China regards self-ruling Taiwan as part of its own territory awaiting reunification under Beijing’s rule, and any US move that implies support for independence would likely trigger fury.

It was not immediately clear whether Trump’s telephone call with Tsai Ing-wen marked a deliberate pivot away from Washington’s official ‘One China’ stance, but it fuelled fears he is improvising on international affairs.