Aug 7, 2022 - World

China announces additional military drills near Taiwan

Ivana Saric

A soldier looks through binoculars during combat exercises off Taiwan coast — A soldier looks through binoculars during combat exercises and training of the navy of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army PLA in the waters around Taiwan on Aug. 5. Photo: Lin Jian/Xinhua via Getty Images

China announced a new series of military drills near Taiwan on Sunday, expanding efforts to express a a show of force in the wake of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the self-governing island last week.

Driving the news: In the wake of Pelosi's visit, China announced several days of live-fire drills that saw the regional power fire ballistic missiles into waters near Taiwan for the first time since the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis.

The big picture: China's Maritime Safety Administration announced on Saturday that new sets of drills would take place in five zones of the Yellow Sea from Aug. 5 to 15, the Washington Post reported.

More military operations would also take place in four zones of the Bohai Sea for a month starting Aug. 8, per the Post.
China's Ministry of Defense did not specify a reason for the additional drills.

The state of play: Taiwan warned on Saturday that the Chinese military drills appeared to simulate an attack.

The drills, which were originally due to end on Sunday, are the largest China has ever held in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said the exercises amount to an "air and sea blockade," as some commercial flights and cargo ships in the region have had to adjust or cancel their routes," Axios' Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian writes.

Go deeper:

Add Axios on Google

China announces additional military drills near Taiwan

What to read next