China’s military has announced new military drills near Taiwan, amid a group of U.S. lawmakers visiting the island.

Reuters news agency reported on this.

The five U.S. lawmakers, led by Senator Ed Markey, arrived in Taiwan on Sunday, August 14.

The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said it organized joint combat readiness patrols and combat exercises with multiple services in the sea and airspace around Taiwan.

In addition, these exercises were called “a stern deterrent to the United States and Taiwan.”

At the same time, the Ministry of Defense of the People’s Republic of China called the USA a “spoiler of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”

“The Chinese People’s Liberation Army continues to train and prepare for war, resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will resolutely crush any form of ‘Taiwan-independence’ separatism and foreign interference,” the Chinese Ministry of Defense added.

As previously reported, a week ago, military drills began in Taiwan to repel a possible attack from China.