Visit by Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan

The US State Department has expressed significant concerns about the recent military exercises conducted by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the Taiwan Strait and surrounding regions. In an official statement, the department described the PLA's actions as unnecessary and a potential catalyst for heightened tensions in the area.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) reported that 25 Chinese military aircraft, along with seven naval vessels and four official ships, were detected near Taiwan until 8 a.m. local time today. Out of these, 16 aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, entering Taiwan's southwestern and eastern Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

An outdoor screen shows a news coverage of China's military drills around Taiwan, in Beijing on May 23, 2024.

China warned on Friday that Taiwan's leadership was pushing the self-ruled island into "a perilous situation of war and danger" and that it would go "further" if provoked, as Beijing conducted military drills around the territory.

Taiwanese air force Mirage 2000 fighter jets wait for take off at a base in Hsinchu in northern Taiwan on May 23, 2024.

China on Thursday encircled Taiwan with naval vessels and military aircraft in war games, as it vowed the blood of "independence forces" on the self-ruled island would flow.

Taiwan raised alarms as it identified six Chinese military aircraft and four naval vessels in the vicinity between 6 am on January 14 and 6 am on January 15, according to reports from Taiwan News.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked Beijing to maintain cross-strait stability on Friday during a meeting with a senior Chinese official, hours before voters in Taiwan headed to polls to choose a new president.

Top U.S. military officer General Charles "CQ" Brown spoke with China's General Liu Zhenli on Thursday, a spokesman said, after a more than year-long halt to high-level defense talks between the two countries.