China said that more than 100 warplanes and 10 warships have taken part in live-fire military drills surrounding Taiwan over the past two days, while announcing sanctions on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over her visit to the self-governing island earlier this week.
The official Xinhua News Agency said that fighters, bombers, destroyers and frigates were all used in what it called “joint blockage operations” taking place in six zones off the coast of Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory. The military’s Eastern Theatre Command also fired new versions of missiles it said hit unidentified targets in the Taiwan Strait “with precision”.