BEIJING (Reuters) - China conducted new military drills in Taiwan on Monday, Beijing said, ending its largest-ever drills surrounding the island after a visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Rejected the demands.
Beijing has warmed to Pelosi's visit, the highest-ranking US elected official to visit Taiwan in decades, which has broken up dialogue and cooperation agreements with Washington, particularly on climate change and defence.
It has also deployed fighter jets, warships and ballistic missiles in what analysts describe as a blockade exercise and attacks on the autonomous, democratic island that China claims as its territory. .
The drills were expected to end on Sunday, but China said they were still ongoing.
"The People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater has been conducting joint operational exercises and training in the sea and airspace around the island of Taiwan," the military said. The People's Liberation Army's Eastern Command added that the exercises "focused on conducting joint anti-submarine and maritime offensive operations". Taipei condemned Beijing for expanding the drills.
"China's provocations and aggression have damaged the stability of the Taiwan Strait and increased tensions in the region," the island's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Taiwan's military said it saw 39 Chinese warplanes and 13 ships operating in the strait on Monday.
Of those, 21 planes crossed the center line — an unofficial border demarcation between China and Taiwan that the former does not recognize.
US President Joe Biden expressed concern on Monday but said he did not expect the situation to escalate.
"I'm not worried, but I'm concerned that they're going as far as they're going. I don't think they're going to do much more than that," Biden told reporters at Dover Air Force Base. Taiwan has resisted all of China's exercises.
Its military said it would hold anti-landing drills in southern Taiwan on Tuesday and Thursday.
"We will practice countermeasures against simulated enemy attacks on Taiwan," Eighth Army Corps spokesman Lu Weijie said.
The army said it would involve the deployment of hundreds of troops and about 40 howitzers.
Taiwan insisted that no Chinese warplanes or ships enter Taiwan's territorial waters - within 12 nautical miles of land - during the Beijing exercises.
But to show how close it is to Taiwan's shores, the Chinese military released a video of an air force pilot filming the island's beaches and mountains from his cockpit.
The Eastern Command also released a photo it said was of the warship on patrol, with Taiwan's coastline in the background.
Chinese state media said ballistic missiles were fired at Taiwan's capital during drills last week. The scale and intensity of China's exercises - as well as its withdrawal from key climate and defense talks - have sparked outrage in the US and other democracies.
Beijing defended its behavior on Monday, calling it "strong, robust and appropriate" to US provocations.