China’s military on Monday announced new military drills in the seas and airspace around Taiwan just a day after the scheduled end of its largest ever exercises to protest against US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei that happened last week.
Quoted in a report by Reuters, China’s Eastern Theatre Command said it would conduct joint drills focusing on anti-submarine and sea assault operations.
Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan infuriated China that regards the self-ruled island as its own. China responded with test launches of ballistic missiles over Taipei for the first time.
The duration and precise location of the latest drills are not known yet, according to a Reuters report, but Taiwan has already eased flight restrictions near the six earlier Chinese exercise areas surrounding the island.
This comes as shortly before the latest drills were announced, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen met visiting St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, telling him she was moved by his determination to visit despite China’s military pressure, Reuters reported.
