China extends military exercises as Taiwan puts army on alertChina extends military exercises as Taiwan puts army on alertChina extends military exercises as Taiwan puts army on alertChina extends military exercises as Taiwan puts army on alertChina extends military exercises as Taiwan puts army on alertChina extends military exercises as Taiwan puts army on alertChina extends military exercises as Taiwan puts army on alertChina extends military exercises as Taiwan puts army on alertChina extends military exercises as Taiwan puts army on alertChina extends military exercises as Taiwan puts army on alert

China announced Monday that it would continue threatening military exercises around Taiwan. These have disrupted shipping, air traffic and raised serious concerns about the possibility of conflict in a crucial region for global trade.

The exercises would include anti-submarine drills, apparently targeting U.S. support for Taiwan in the event of a potential Chinese invasion, according to social media posts from the eastern leadership of China’s ruling Communist Party’s military arm, the People’s Liberation Army.

The military has said the exercises involving missile strikes, warplanes and ship movements crossing the midline of the Taiwan Strait dividing the sides were a response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-ruled island last week.

China has refused to calm tensions and it is not clear when it will lift what amounts to a blockade.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said Sunday it detected a total of 66 aircraft and 14 warships conducting the naval and air exercises. The island has responded by putting its military on alert and deploying ships, planes and other assets to monitor Chinese aircraft, ships and drones that are “simulating attacks on the island of Taiwan and our ships at sea.”

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reported that Taiwan’s army will conduct live-fire artillery drills in southern Pingtung County on Tuesday and Thursday, in response to the Chinese exercises.

According to the report, which cited a anonymous source, drills will include snipers as well combat vehicles, armored and combat vehicles as well attack helicopters.

China claims Taiwan is its territory and has threatened to annexe it by force if necessary. After a civil war in 1949, the two sides split. However, Beijing considers visits by foreign officials to Taiwan as recognition of its sovereignty.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has called on the international community to “support democratic Taiwan” and “halt any escalation of the regional security situation.” The Group of Seven industrialized nations has also criticized China’s actions, prompting Beijing to cancel a meeting between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi.

China has imposed sanctions against Pelosi as a retaliation to her visit.

The Biden administration and Pelosi say the U.S. remains committed to the “one-China” policy that extends formal diplomatic recognition to Beijing while allowing robust informal relations and defense ties with Taipei.

The U.S. however criticized Beijing’s actions in the Taiwan Strait, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calling them “fundamentally irresponsible.”

“There’s no need and no reason for this escalation,” Jean-Pierre said.

In Washington, Taiwan’s de facto ambassador Bi-khim Hsiao said China had no reason to “be so furious,” over Pelosi’s visit, which follows a long tradition of American lawmakers visiting Taiwan.

“Well, you know, we have been living under the threat from China for decades,” Hsiao told CBS News on Sunday. “If you have a kid being bullied at school, you don’t say you don’t go to school. You seek to find a way of dealing with the bully.

“The risks are posed by Beijing,” Hsiao said.

On a visit to Myanmar, whose Chinese-backed military government has been accused of murdering its opponents, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Washington was “taking the opportunity to build up its military deployment in the region, which deserves high vigilance and resolute boycott from all sides.”

“China’s firm stance” is aimed at “earnestly safeguarding peace across the Taiwan Strait and regional stability,” Wang was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.

Penny Wong, the Australian Foreign Minister, called for a cooling down of tensions. “Australia continues to urge restraint, Australia continues to urge deescalation, and this is not something that solely Australia is calling for, and the whole region is concerned about the current situation, the whole region is calling for stability to be restored,” Wong told reporters in Canberra.