China: China has launched military drills around Taiwan, which it called a “stern warning” to the self-ruled island’s government after a meeting between the country’s president and the US House speaker.

The move has led to condemnation from Taipei and calls for restraint from Washington, which said it was “monitoring Beijing’s actions closely.”

“China will send planes, ships, and personnel into the maritime areas and airspace of the Taiwan Strait, off the northern and southern coasts of the island, and to the island’s east,” Mr. Shi Yin, a People’s Liberation Army spokesperson, stated.

Taiwan’s President Ms. Tsai Ing-wen denounced the drills, which came after she met with US House Speaker Mr. Kevin McCarthy in California.

Ms. Tsai further pledged to work with “the US and other like-minded countries” in the face of “continued authoritarian expansionism.”

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry recently released a video showing soldiers loading anti-aircraft missile launchers, fighter jets taking off, and other military preparedness exercises.

The footage included surveillance of China’s Shandong aircraft carrier, which sailed through waters south of Taiwan.

“These operations serve as a stern warning against the collusion between separatist forces seeking “Taiwan independence” and external forces and against their provocative activities. The operations are necessary for safeguarding China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Mr. Shi added.

China views democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to seize it one day, by force if necessary.

The drills further follow the departure from Beijing of the French President Mr. Emmanuel Macron, and EU Chief Ms. Ursula von der Leyen, who were in China to urge Xi Jinping to help bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

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