Chinese foreign ministry clarifies goals of military exercises around Taiwan

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin has said that Beijing is conducting military drills around Taiwan to give a warning to the United States and teach a lesson to "Taiwanese separatists".

"The measures that we took in response to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s hasty visit to Taiwan are absolutely legitimate and justified," he said on August 9, when asked to confirm or deny statements that China was conducting the drills as part of preparations for a military invasion of Taiwan.

"It is a warning for instigators and a lesson for Taiwanese separatists," the diplomat added, according to TASS.

"There is only one China and Taiwan is its integral part," he noted.

Taiwan’s top diplomat Joseph Wu said earlier that China had taken advantage of Pelosi’s visit to Taipei to launch large-scale drills near the island, which, in his view, were aimed at changing the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.