China stages major new military drills around Taiwan as it warns US against ‘collusion’ with island

Taiwan’s sovereignty has been a point of contention between China and US

China has said that it recently conducted joint combat exercises and drills around Taiwan, and warned the United States against military collusion with the island nation.

The statement was released on Friday, a day after US senator Rick Scott reached Taipei on a two-day visit to meet Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen.

China, which maintains that Taiwan is a part of its national territory even though Taipei has ruled itself since 1949, has beefed up its military activities around the east Asian nation, including flying a record number of warplanes into the island’s airspace.