‘Taiwan encirclement drills a serious warning’

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Recent Chinese air and sea drills simulating an encirclement of Taiwan were intended as a "serious warning" to pro-independence politicians on the self-governing island and their foreign supporters, a Chinese spokesperson said Wednesday.

The three days of large-scale air and sea exercises named Joint Sword that ended Monday were a response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California last week during a transit visit to the US China had warned of serious consequences if that meeting went ahead.

Also Read: China's military displays force after Tsai trip to the US

"The People's Liberation Army recently organised and conducted a series of countermeasures in the Taiwan Strait and surrounding waters, which is a serious warning against the collusion and provocation of Taiwan independence separatist forces and external forces," Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office, said at a biweekly news conference.

"It is a necessary action to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity," she said. China claims Taiwan as its own territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary and regularly sends ships and warplanes into airspace and waters near the island.

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