On Saturday, China began a military exercise near Taiwan, the state news agency New China reports. The exercise is described as a stern warning following anger over Taiwan’s Vice President William Lai’s stopover in the United States.
Lai, who is one of the candidates for Taiwan’s presidential election next year, recently stopped in both New York and San Francisco during a trip to Paraguay.
China has called Lai a troublemaker and vowed to take “resolute and forceful measures to protect national sovereignty”.
China views self-governing Taiwan as part of its territory and has stated that it will one day take over the island, by force if necessary. In recent years, China has regularly shown displeasure with political activities in Taiwan by increasing the number of military planes it sends to the island.