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 TAIPEI, Taiwan — A Taiwanese naval ship accidentally fired a supersonic missile in the direction of its rival China on Friday, killing the captain of a nearby fishing boat, a state-run news agency said. 
 
 The 500-ton Chinchiang-class corvette launched the missile during a training exercise while docked at a harbor in the southern port city of Kaohsiung. 
 
 A model of Taiwan's Hsiung Feng III missile is displayed in Taipei in 2007. Wally Santana / AP 
 
 The Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile landed in waters around 46 miles to the northwest, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported. It hit a Taiwanese fishing boat, killing the captain and injuring three others, it cited the country's defense ministry as saying. 
 
 China — which has been locked in a decades-long standoff with Taiwan — is around 160 miles away from the harbor. The missile had a range of 200 miles but did not cross the Taiwan Strait's median line, which separates the two countries. 
 
 The country's navy said the mishap was likely caused by human error and that those responsible would be punished, according to the Central News Agency. 
 
 Navy Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Mei Chia-shu told reporters that China had not been notified of the launch because Taipei is not in contact with Beijing. 
 
 The firing coincided with Beijing's ruling Communist Party celebrating its 95th anniversary. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech Friday calling for peaceful development of relations between Beijing and Taipei, according to The Associated Press. 
 
 The two countries have been rivals since the Chinese civil war ended in 1950. Supporters of the then ruling Chinese government fled to Taiwan after its forces were defeated by the Communists. 
 
 Beijing does not recognize the island and sees it as a breakaway province. Last November, their leaders met for the first time since the war but this fledgling rapprochement has since chilled after Taiwan's new president refused to accept there is "one China." ||||| FILE - In this file photo taken on Oct. 10. 2007, a model of Taiwan's indigenous Hsiung Feng III missile is displayed during the R.O.C., Republic of China, National Day in Taipei, Taiwan. Taiwan's Navy... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this file photo taken on Oct. 10. 2007, a model of Taiwan's indigenous Hsiung Feng III missile is displayed during the R.O.C., Republic of China, National Day in Taipei, Taiwan. Taiwan's Navy said that one of its 500-ton patrol boats based in southern Taiwan launched the supersonic anti-ship... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this file photo taken on Oct. 10. 2007, a model of Taiwan's indigenous Hsiung Feng III missile is displayed during the R.O.C., Republic of China, National Day in Taipei, Taiwan. Taiwan's Navy said that one of its 500-ton patrol boats based in southern Taiwan launched the supersonic anti-ship... (Associated Press) FILE - In this file photo taken on Oct. 10. 2007, a model of Taiwan's indigenous Hsiung Feng III missile is displayed during the R.O.C., Republic of China, National Day in Taipei, Taiwan. Taiwan's Navy... (Associated Press) 
 
 TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan's military said it mistakenly fired a supersonic anti-ship missile Friday that hit a fishing boat, killing one and injuring three people, on the day rival China was celebrating the Communist Party's anniversary. 
 
 The 500-ton patrol boat Chinchiang was undergoing an inspection inside a military base when the Hsiung Feng III missile was fired and landed about 40 nautical miles (75 kilometers) away in waters off the islands of Penghu near Taiwan, the official Central News Agency said. 
 
 The Defense Ministry said the missile penetrated a nearby Taiwanese fishing boat, killing its captain and injuring three crew members. 
 
 A preliminary investigation showed that missile operators likely failed to follow proper procedures, CNA said. 
 
 A full investigation was under way, while the navy sent a helicopter and boats to search for the missile, the report said. 
 
 The firing coincided with Beijing's celebrations of the 95th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Communist Party. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also the party's top leader, delivered a speech Friday calling for peaceful development of relations between Beijing and Taipei. 
 
 Tensions across the strait have escalated since Tsai Ing-wen of a pro-independence party was elected president earlier this year. Tsai has refused to endorse the concept of a single Chinese nation, and Beijing cut off contact with Taiwan's liaison office when she was inaugurated in May. 
 
 Beijing sees Taiwan as a renegade province after a civil war, although the island has functioned as an independent country and does not acknowledge Beijing's claim of authority over it.
– In an accident that is unlikely to do anything good for China-Taiwan relations, a Taiwanese naval ship docked in the southern city of Kaohsiung mistakenly fired a supersonic missile toward China during a training exercise Friday, killing one. Officials say the missile—built to destroy ships—traveled almost a third of the 160-mile distance to China in roughly two minutes before hitting a Taiwanese fishing boat, reports NBC News. The Taiwanese captain was killed, while three crew members from Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines were injured, reports the New York Times. Taiwanese officials say the supersonic missile—which had a range of about 200 miles—was likely fired by human error and did not cross the midway line in the Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and China, which is celebrating the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party. In a speech Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called "for peaceful development of relations" between Taipei and Beijing, as the AP puts it. China still claims Taiwan as part of its territory.