China announced on Saturday that it will begin a three-day military drill in the Taiwan Strait, a day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a trip to the United States.
According to a report by Reuters, the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command announced that China will hold "combat readiness patrols" and exercises around in the Taiwan Strait and to the north, south and east of Taiwan "as planned", without offering other details.
China on Friday slapped sanctions on two American organisations that hosted Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen during her visit to the US and her meeting with the House Speaker, a day after President Xi Jinping said it is "wishful thinking" to expect Beijing to "compromise" on its stand on the self-ruled island.
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Tsai's meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy - the third most senior official in the US - on Thursday took place against the backdrop of repeated warnings from Beijing to Washington that the meeting should not happen. It was the first time a Taiwan president had met a US Speaker on American soil.
China views any official exchanges between foreign governments and Taiwan as an infringement on Beijing's claims of sovereignty over the island.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Washington-based think tank Hudson Institute and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California would be banned from any cooperation, exchange or transaction with institutions and individuals in China.
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(With inputs from AP)
