Taiwan’s foreign minister assessed on Tuesday that Beijing was using military maneuvers near the island to “prepare” an invasion of it and “change the status quo” in the Asia-Pacific region, La Libre Belgique newspaper reported, as cited by Rador.

“China used the exercise and the military road map to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan,” Joseph Wu said at a news conference in Taipei. “China’s real intention is to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and the entire region.”

“It is conducting large-scale military exercises and missile launches, as well as cyber attacks, a disinformation campaign and economic coercion to weaken the morale of the Taiwanese people,” he added.

China began its biggest military maneuvers around Taiwan last week in response to a visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking US official to visit the self-ruled island in decades.

China considers Taiwan, which has about 23 million inhabitants, one of its provinces, which it has not yet managed to unite with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese Civil War (1949).

On Tuesday, Taiwan’s military conducted an artillery drill with live bullets, simulating the island’s defense against a Chinese invasion. It ended around 1:30 a.m. GMT, said Lu Wei Jhe, a spokesman for Taiwan’s 8th Army Corps. The second training is scheduled for Thursday. Lu assured that the Taiwanese exercises are already planned and that they are not a response to the ongoing Chinese exercises. Military exercises simulating a Chinese invasion are regularly held on the island.