After Pelosi visit to Taiwan, China announces new military drills around island nation
China announced new military drills around Taiwan on Aug. 8, a day after the scheduled end of Beijing’s largest exercises to protest U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-ruled island.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry condemned the move, saying China, which claims the self-governed island as its own, was deliberately creating crises. It demanded Beijing stop its military actions and “pull back from the edge.”
“In the face of military intimidation created by China, Taiwan will not be afraid nor back down, and will more firmly defend its sovereignty, national security, and free and democratic way of life,” the ministry said in a statement.
Pelosi’s visit infuriated China, which responded with test launches of ballistic missiles over Taipei for the first time, and by ditching some lines of dialogue with Washington, including theater military talks and on climate change.
Despite the announcement of new drills, Taiwan has already eased flight restrictions near the six earlier Chinese exercise areas surrounding the island. (Reuters)
