"China conducted military exercises near Taiwan's border."

Beijing, March 20. China held military drills on Tuesday off Taiwan's north, south and east coasts in a strong warning against separatism, and even called Taiwan's president a parasite. The drills came after Taiwan sent warships to its shores to respond to China's navy. However, unlike war games last year, China did not formally name the exercises.

The drills come after Chinese rhetoric and a visit to Asia by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, during which he repeatedly criticized Beijing. "To test the coordination of forces in combat, the Chinese military has deployed ships, aircraft and artillery to practice blockades of the island," Beijing's Eastern Command said in a statement.

Three days after Lai's emergence last May, Chinese forces held war games to seize full control of the western areas of the first island chain. China considers democratically-ruled Taiwan its territory and has called Lai a “separatist.” The announcement was accompanied by a video from the Eastern Command, which called him a “parasite” in English. He was also depicted as a green bug being caught with chopsticks in a burning Taiwan.