After Pelosi's visit, China keeps extend military drills around Taiwan

China said on Monday that it will keep doing military drills around Taiwan. This comes a day after its biggest drills ever, which were done in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's controversial trip to Taipei last week.

China's Eastern Theater Command said that it would hold joint drills that would focus on anti-submarine and sea assault operations. This confirmed what some security experts and diplomats were afraid of: that Beijing would keep putting pressure on Taiwan's defenses.

China's decision to keep doing military drills was criticized by Taiwan's Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu. He said that China was still "deliberately creating crises and continuing to provoke."

Wu told China to stop the dangerous exercises right away and "pull back from the edge," but he also sounded defiant.

In a statement, the ministry said, "When China uses its military to try to scare Taiwan, Taiwan will not be afraid or back down. Instead, it will defend its sovereignty, national security, and free and democratic way of life with even more force."

China fired 11 short-range ballistic missiles during the four earlier days of exercises, while its warships, fighter jets and drones maneuvered around Taiwan.

A Chinese military plane flies during a training exercise of the air force corps of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army on Friday. — A Chinese military plane flies during a training exercise of the air force corps of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army on Friday.

Pelosi's trip to Taiwan last week angered China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory. In response, China tested ballistic missiles for the first time over Taipei and stopped some defense and climate talks with the U.S.

We don't yet know how long the latest round of drills will last or where they will take place, but Taiwan has already eased flight restrictions near the six areas where China has already done drills around the island.

Taiwan's defense ministry said on Sunday that 66 planes and 14 warships were taking part in the air and sea exercises. As a response, the island has put its military on high alert and sent out ships, planes, and other assets to watch Chinese planes, ships, and drones that are "simulating attacks on Taiwan and our ships at sea."

In response to the Chinese exercises, Taiwan's official Central News Agency said that Taiwan's army will do live-fire artillery drills in the southern county of Pingtung on Tuesday and Thursday.

The report, which cited an anonymous source, said that the drills will include snipers, combat vehicles, armored vehicles, and attack helicopters.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan last week infuriated China, prompting it to carry out its largest ever exercises near Taiwan. — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week infuriated China, prompting it to carry out its largest ever exercises near Taiwan.

During the first four days of the exercises, China fired 11 short-range ballistic missiles and did a lot of maneuvering around the island with warships, fighter jets, and drones.

A person who works on security planning and knows about the situation said that just before the drills ended on Sunday, about 10 warships from both China and Taiwan moved around the unofficial middle line of the Taiwan Strait.

Late on Sunday, a commentator on Chinese state TV said that the Chinese military would now do "regular" drills on the side of the line that faces Taiwan.

Sun Li-fang, a spokesman for Taiwan's defense ministry, told reporters in Taipei that Taiwan's military had handled the Chinese drills "calmly." Earlier, the ministry said that warships, planes, and drones were used in the drills to pretend that the island and its navy were being attacked.

The ministry said in a statement that China's no-fly zones and crossings of the median line have "compressed" Taiwan's training space and will make it harder for international flights and air routes to run normally in the future.

China conducted missile tests into the waters off the eastern coast of Taiwan, from an undisclosed location on Aug. 4.

But on Monday, Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said that China was doing normal military drills "in our own waters" in an open, honest, and professional way. He also said that Taiwan was a part of China.

When asked if China's ongoing drills followed international law and if new warnings for civilian air and sea traffic would be sent out, Wang said that the relevant departments sent out timely announcements that followed both international and domestic law.

In the meantime, China's defense ministry kept up its diplomatic pressure on the US by defending its decision to cancel military-to-military talks in response to Pelosi's visit.

A TV screen shows China's People's Liberation Army conducting military exercises including live firing on the waters and in the airspace surrounding Taiwan. — A TV screen shows China’s People’s Liberation Army conducting military exercises including live firing on the waters and in the airspace surrounding Taiwan.

"The current tense situation in the Taiwan Strait was started and made by the US side on its own," a defense ministry spokesman said in an online post. "The US side must take full responsibility and face serious consequences for this," he added.

Wu said, "The bottom line can't be broken, and communication needs to be honest."

As soon as Pelosi left the area on Friday, China called off formal talks about theater-level commands, defense policy coordination, and military maritime consultations.

Officials from the Pentagon, State Department, and White House all said that the move was a reckless overreaction.

Security experts and diplomats say that China's decision to cut off some of its few lines of communication with the US military raises the risk of a mistaken escalation over Taiwan at a crucial time.

One US official said that when tensions were high last week, Chinese officials didn't answer calls from top Pentagon officials. However, they didn't see this as a formal break in ties with top people like Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducts conventional missile tests into the waters off the eastern coast of Taiwan. — Forces from China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conduct conventional missile tests into the waters off the eastern coast of Taiwan.

When asked directly about these reports, a defense ministry spokesman named Wu said, "China's relevant countermeasures are a necessary warning to the provocations of the United States and Taiwan, and a legitimate defense of national sovereignty and security."

The Biden administration and Pelosi both said that the US is still committed to the "one-China" policy. This policy gives official diplomatic recognition to Beijing and lets Taipei have strong informal relations and defense ties.

The US, on the other hand, said that Beijing's actions in the Taiwan Strait were "fundamentally irresponsible," according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Jean-Pierre said, "There's no need or reason for this to get worse."

Taiwan's de facto ambassador in Washington, Bi-khim Hsiao, said that China had no reason to be "so angry" about Pelosi's visit, which is part of a long tradition of American lawmakers going to Taiwan.

Hsiao told CBS News on Sunday, "Well, you know, China has been a threat to us for decades." "If your child is being bullied at school, you don't say you don't go to school. You look for ways to handle the bully.