Chinese military launches drills around Taiwan as a ‘warning’ after a top island official went to US

BEIJING (AP) — China’s defense ministry says its military has launched drills around Taiwan as a “stern warning” over what it calls collusion between “separatists and foreign forces,” days after the island’s vice president stopped over in the United States. Taiwanese Vice President William Lai’s recent trip to Paraguay included stops in San Francisco and New York City. The mainland’s ruling Communist Party claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and says it has no right to conduct foreign relations. In response to the military drills on Saturday, Taiwan’s defense ministry strongly condemned the “irrational, provocative moves,” adding that its forces would stand ready in the face of military threats.