China on Monday said that it is continuing military drills in the seas and the airspace around Taiwan, a day after the exercise was scheduled to end, Reuters reported.
The Eastern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army said on social media platform Weibo that it will continue practising anti-submarine attacks and sea raids.
The duration and the exact location of the fresh drills are not known yet.
Last week, China launched live-fire military drills – exercises using live ammunition – around Taiwan in retaliation for the United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island nation.
Pelosi was the highest-ranking American official to visit Taiwan in 25 years on August 2 despite a slew of threats from Beijing, which considers the island as its own.
After Pelosi’s arrival, China raised tensions by launching military exercises in the air and seas around Taiwan, including firing ballistic missiles close to the island.
The US, Australia and Japan urged China to cease the military drills near Taiwan.
On Friday, China cut off contact with the US on vital matters, including defence meetings and a crucial climate cooperation agreement.
On Monday, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian defended Beijing’s decision to shelve military talks with the US, Xinhua news agency reported.
“The current tense situation in the Taiwan Strait is completely provocative and single-handedly created by the US side, and the US side must bear full responsibility and serious consequences for this,” the spokesperson said. “The Chinese side has stated its solemn position on the relationship between the two countries and the two militaries, the Taiwan issue, etc., especially with regard to the repeated stern representations of the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit.”
He also said that China’s countermeasures are a “necessary warning to the provocation of the United States and Taiwan, and the legitimate defence of national sovereignty and security is completely reasonable and appropriate”.
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