Amid another US Delegation visit, China conducts Fresh Military Drills around Taiwan

China is upping the ante against Taiwan amid another US congressional delegation visit to the self-governed island.

China's military said it conducted combat alert patrols and military drills in the waters and airspace around Taiwan on Monday, a day after the arrival of a US congressional delegation to Taipei, reported CNN. A fresh delegation of US lawmakers is visiting Taiwan, less than two weeks after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the self-ruled island angered China and set off large-scale military drills in the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said 30 Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes and five vessels were detected in the Taiwan Strait on Monday, reported CNN.

A US congressional delegation led by Sen Ed Markey arrived in Taipei on Sunday for a previously unannounced two-day visit that came on the heels of a trip from US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier this month.

China's military said last Wednesday that it had "successfully completed" those exercises, but pledged to "regularly conduct" more patrols in the direction of the Taiwan Strait, reported CNN.

China's ruling Chinese Communist Party views Taiwan as part of its territory, despite having never controlled it, and has long vowed to "reunify" the island with the Chinese mainland, by force if necessary.

Markey's five-member delegation visited the self-governed island in an effort to "reaffirm the United States' support for Taiwan" and to "encourage stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait," a spokesperson for the senator said in a statement.

At their Monday meeting, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen thanked the delegation for visiting at a "key moment" and for demonstrating their...