United States announced today that they are closely monitoring her actions China in its straits Taiwan and that Beijing’s military exercises undermine peace and stability in the region. “Our channels of communication with China remain open and we have repeatedly called for restraint,” a senior US official said.

The Chinese military said earlier today that it had “successfully completed” a military exercise aimed at encircling the autonomous island of Taiwan, which Beijing considers a Chinese province destined for reunification with the mainland, within three days.

Taiwan and the United States condemned the exercise, while Washington called for “restraint” and deployed a destroyer in waters claimed by Beijing. Conversely, for Russia, which has declared “limitless” cooperation with China, Beijing has the right to respond to repeated “provocations” against itself and conduct military exercises around Taiwan.

“China has the sovereign right to respond to (to) provocative actions” by the United States “primarily by conducting military exercises,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Against this backdrop of tension, the US State Department announced today that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will travel to China’s neighbor Vietnam at the end of the week to discuss “our shared vision for a prosperous Indo-Pacific that is peaceful and enduring.”

The Chinese military exercise, which began on Saturday, was aimed at Beijing’s protest over Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday.

The exercise “is a serious warning against collusion and provocative actions between separatist forces seeking ‘Taiwan independence’ and outside forces,” Chinese military spokesman Xi Yi warned.

After the end of the military exercises, Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry accused China of undermining “peace and stability” in the region.

The United States has shown that it also wants to show strength: the American destroyer USS Milius today conducted a “free-floating operation” in the South China Sea area claimed by Beijing. An “invasion” that China immediately condemned.

Japan has announced that its fighter jets have taken to the air in recent days in response to takeoffs and landings from the aircraft carrier Shandong.

Chinese dissatisfaction with the rapprochement between Taiwan and the United States

China is outraged by the rapprochement in recent years between the authorities of Taiwan and the United States, which, despite the absence of official relations, provide the island with significant military support.

Beijing views Taiwan as a province that has not yet been reunited with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. China seeks this reunification, even by force if necessary.

A live-fire exercise on Monday was planned in the Taiwan Strait off the coast of Fujian Province (east), the province opposite the island, according to Chinese authorities.

The last major military deployment around the island took place in August. Then China conducted unprecedented military exercises around Taiwan and fired rockets in response to a visit to the island by then-Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi.