Furious China is all set to conduct massive military exercises encircling the island state of Taiwan in retaliation for Nancy Pelosi's controversial visit, which has sparked new tensions in the region.
The exercises, including those involving live fire, are to start on Thursday and will be the biggest aimed at Taiwan since 1995 when China fired missiles in a large-scale exercise to show its displeasure over a visit by then-Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui to the US.
It comes as Group of Seven leaders urged Beijing to show restraint, saying there was "no justification" for "aggressive" military drills in the Taiwan Strait.
The senior US politician left Taiwan on Wednesday morning, having defied a series of increasingly stark warnings from Beijing, which considers the island as its inseparable province and warned it would consider the visit a major provocation.
China later announced what it said was "necessary and just" military drills in the seas just off Taiwan's coast –– some of the world's busiest waterways.
"In the current struggle surrounding Pelosi's Taiwan visit, the United States are the provocateurs, China is the victim," Beijing's Foreign Ministry said.
After Pelosi's departure, Taiwan's Defence Ministry announced late on Wednesday that 27 Chinese warplanes had entered the island's air defence identification zone (ADIZ).
CCTV showed military planes taking off, naval warships on patrol, military vehicles and missile weapons participating in drills.
The exercises were aiming to "shock and deter against the major escalation of the United States' recent negative actions on the Taiwan issue, and a serious warning to the Taiwan independence forces," said the spokesperson of Eastern Theatre Command, Shi Yi.
Drills in preparation for 'actual combat'
The drills will include "long-range live ammunition shooting" in the Taiwan Strait.
The zone of Chinese exercises will be within 20 kilometres of Taiwan's shoreline at some points, according to coordinates released by the Chinese military.
Taiwan's Defence Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang said that some of the areas of China's drills "breach into... (Taiwan's) territorial waters".
"This is an irrational move to challenge the international order."
But a source with the Chinese military told the AFP news agency that the exercises would be staged "in preparation for actual combat".
"If the Taiwanese forces come into contact with the PLA on purpose and accidentally fire a gun, the PLA will take stern countermeasures, and all the consequences will be borne by the Taiwanese side," the source warned.
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, which sets the government's China policies, accused Beijing of "vicious intimidation" and called for democratic countries to "unite and take a solemn stand to punish and deter" Beijing.
Pelosi meets dissidents
China tries to keep Taiwan isolated on the world stage and opposes countries having official exchanges with Taipei.
Pelosi, second in line to the presidency, is the highest-profile elected US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years.
Before leaving Taiwan, Pelosi also met with several dissidents who have previously been in the crosshairs of China's wrath –– including Tiananmen protest student leader Wu'er Kaixi.
"Both the United States and Taiwan governments need to... conduct more in defending human rights," Wu'er said.
Pelosi's trip heightened US.-China tensions more than visits by other members of Congress because of her position as leader of the House of Representatives.
The last House speaker to visit Taiwan was Newt Gingrich in 1997.
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
