Earlier in April, China conducted large-scale air and sea drills in the vicinity of Taiwan in retaliation for Tsai’s meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on April 5 in California. China said the exercise, simulating the encirclement of Taiwan, was intended as a “serious warning” to pro-independence politicians and their foreign supporters on the self-ruled island.
China has ramped up its military pressure and diplomatic isolation against Taiwan in recent years, sending fighter jets and navy ships toward the island on an almost daily basis.
While Taiwan maintains official diplomatic relations with just 13 sovereign states, it maintains strong ties with most major countries, including the US.
After former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August, it sent more military ships to the center line of the Taiwan Strait, an informal boundary that had been accepted for decades.