China fired ballistic missiles and deployed fighter jets Thursday as it held its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan, a show of force condemned by Washington as a gross overreaction to Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island.

The US House speaker was the highest-profile US official to visit Taiwan in years, defying a series of stark threats from Beijing, which views the self-ruled island as its territory.

In retaliation, China launched a series of exercises in multiple zones around Taiwan, straddling some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and at some points just 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the island's shore.

"China has chosen to overreact and use the speaker's visit as a pretext to increase provocative military activity in and around the Taiwan Strait," White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

"The temperature's pretty high," but tensions "can come down very easily by just having the Chinese stop these very aggressive military drills," he added.

The drills began around 12 noon local time (0400 GMT), and involved a "conventional missile firepower assault" in waters to the east of Taiwan, the Chinese military said.

Taiwan said the Chinese military fired 11 Dongfeng-class ballistic missiles "in several batches" and condemned the exercises as "irrational actions that undermine regional peace".

Taipei did not say where the missiles landed or whether they flew over the island.

But Japan, a key US ally, said that of the nine missiles it had detected, four were "believed to have flown over Taiwan's main island".

Tokyo has lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing over the exercises, with Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi saying five of the missiles were believed to have landed in his country's exclusive economic zone.

Taipei's defence ministry said it had detected 22 Chinese fighter jets briefly crossing the Taiwan Strait's "median line" during Thursday's exercises.

- 'Necessary and just' -

AFP journalists on the border island of Pingtan saw several small projectiles flying into the sky followed by plumes of white smoke and loud booming sounds.

On the mainland, at what is said to be China's closest point to Taiwan, AFP saw a batch of five military helicopters flying at a relatively low altitude near a popular tourist spot.

Beijing has said the drills will last until midday on Sunday.

Beijing has defended the drills as "necessary and just", pinning the blame for the escalation on the United States and its allies.

"In the face of this blatant provocation, we have to take legitimate and necessary countermeasures to safeguard the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular briefing Thursday.

Military analysts told Beijing's state broadcaster CCTV that the goal was to practice a possible blockade of the island and contain its pro-independence forces.

"The purpose is to show that the PLA is capable of controlling all the exits of the Taiwan Island, which will be a great deterrent to 'Taiwan independence' secessionist forces," said Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at China's Naval Research Institute.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington had contacted Beijing "at every level of government" in recent days to call for calm and stability.

"I hope very much that Beijing will not manufacture a crisis or seek a pretext to increase its aggressive military activity," Blinken told ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Phnom Penh.

- Ships warned, flights disrupted -

Speaking at the same meeting, Japan's foreign minister called for an "immediate stop" to China's military drills near Taiwan.

"China's actions this time have a serious impact on the peace and stability of the region and the international community," Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.

The manoeuvers are taking place along some of the busiest shipping routes on the planet, used to supply vital semiconductors and electronic equipment produced in East Asian factory hubs to global markets.

Taiwan's Maritime and Port Bureau has issued warnings to ships to avoid the areas being used for the Chinese drills.

The Taiwanese cabinet said the drills would disrupt 18 international routes passing through its flight information region (FIR).

Taiwan's 23 million people have long lived with the possibility of an invasion, but that threat has intensified under President Xi Jinping, China's most assertive ruler in a generation.

Analysts said the Chinese leadership is keen to project strength ahead of a crucial ruling party meeting this autumn at which Xi is expected to be given an unprecedented third term, but that China is not aiming to escalate the situation beyond its control -- at least for now.

Titus Chen, an associate professor of political science at the National Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan, said: "The last thing Xi wants is an accidental war."

Seven decades of China-Taiwan relations
Taipei (AFP) Aug 4, 2022 - As China embarks on its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei, AFP looks back at relations between the self-governing island and Beijing, which views it as part of China.

- 1949: separation -

Mao Zedong's communists take power in Beijing in October 1949 after defeating Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang (KMT) nationalists in a civil war.

The KMT flee to the island of Taiwan and form their own government in Taipei in December, cutting off contacts with mainland China.

In 1950, Taiwan becomes an ally of the United States, which is at war with communist China in Korea. The US deploys a fleet in the Taiwan Strait to protect its ally from possible attack.

- 1971: Beijing gets UN, US nods -

In October 1971, Beijing takes over China's seat at the United Nations, previously held by Taipei.

In 1979, the United States cuts formal ties with Taiwan and establishes diplomatic relations with Beijing instead.

Washington goes on to develop a nuanced Taiwan policy were it "acknowledges" China's claim to the island, which is not the same as accepting Beijing's claim of sovereignty.

The US also maintains trade and military ties with Taipei. It opposes both Taiwanese independence and any attempt by China to forcibly take the island.

- 1987-2004: relations improve -

In late 1987, Taiwan residents are for the first time permitted to visit mainland China, allowing families to reunite.

In 1991, Taiwan lifts emergency rule, unilaterally ending a state of war with China. The first direct talks between the two sides are held in Singapore two years later.

But in 1995, Beijing suspends talks in protest at a visit by Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui to the United States.

In 1996, China tests missiles off Taiwan to deter voters in the island's first democratic presidential election.

In 2000 elections, the KMT loses power in Taiwan for the first time. Over the next few years trade links between the two sides improve.

- 2005-2015: threats and talks -

In March 2005, Beijing adopts a law authorising the use of force if Taiwan declares independence. In April, KMT chairman Lien Chan makes a landmark visit to Beijing for talks with Chinese leader Hu Jintao.

In 2008, Taiwan and China resume high-level talks after the KMT's Ma Ying-jeou is elected president on a Beijing-friendly platform.

In 2010, they sign a sweeping Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement and in 2014 hold the first government-to-government talks since separation.

- 2016: honeymoon over -

In January 2016, Tsai Ing-wen, from the traditionally pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, wins presidential elections.

In June, China suspends all communications with Taiwan after the new government fails to acknowledge the "One China" policy.

In December 2016, US president-elect Donald Trump breaks with decades of US diplomatic policy by speaking directly, by telephone, with Tsai.

In January 2019, Xi Jinping says that the unification of China and Taiwan is "inevitable".

- 2021: US-China tensions -

In 2021, Chinese military jets make hundreds of incursions into Taiwan's defence zone.

In October, US President Joe Biden says the United States will defend Taiwan if China attacks it, in comments later partly walked back by the White House.

Tsai confirms that a small number of US troops are present in Taiwan to help train its forces.

- 2022: Pelosi visit sparks fury -

On August 2, after days of speculation and stern warnings from Beijing of unspecified "consequences", US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lands in Taiwan during a tour of Asia.

The highest-profile elected US official to visit the island in 25 years says her visit demonstrates her country's "unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan's vibrant democracy".

A furious China vows "punishment" and launches its largest-ever military exercises in the area, encircling Taiwan on August 4.

The exercises include the deployment of fighter jets and warships, and the firing of ballistic missiles.

Related Links
Taiwan News at SinoDaily.com

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A stone's throw from Taiwan, beachgoers aren't worried about war
Xiamen, China (AFP) Aug 4, 2022
On a beach in the Chinese coastal city of Xiamen, just a few kilometres from an island controlled by the Taiwanese authorities, life is carefree despite some of the worst cross-strait tensions in decades. Ignoring stark warnings from Beijing, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived late Tuesday in Taiwan - the highest-ranking elected US official to visit the island in 25 years - sparking a diplomatic firestorm. China on Thursday launched some of its largest-ever military drills in response - ... read more