China says it held military exercises near Taiwan on Sunday, which it says are the result of “provocations” and “collusion” between the United States and the island’s authorities, AFP and Reuters reported.

The Chinese did not specify either the number of mobilized devices or the exact location of these maneuvers.

Taiwan said the drills showed Beijing was destroying regional peace and trying to suppress the Taiwanese people.

China considers Taiwan, of 24 million people, one of its provinces, which it has yet to successfully reunite with the rest of its territory after the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

She resents the recent rapprochement between Taiwanese authorities and the United States, which has provided the island with military support against Beijing for decades.

“This is a firm response to the growing collusion between the United States and the Taiwan authorities and their provocations,” said Shi Yi, a spokesman for China’s People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater of Operations.

China held military exercises near Taiwan in August following a visit to Taipei by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.