China fired multiple missiles towards Taiwan in its largest military drills in the Taiwan Strait in decades after US Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan as part of her Asia tour.

The trip made Pelosi the most senior US politician to visit Taiwan in more than 20 years, a move which has drawn protests from China, which claims Taiwan as its territory.

Four missiles likely flew over Taiwan for the first time on Thursday Aug. 4, a day after Pelosi left, Japan’s Defense Ministry said, Bloomberg reported.

The ministry said four of the ballistic missiles landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone and strongly condemned the move, according to Bloomberg.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said several Chinese warships and military planes had crossed the median line that divides the Taiwan Strait between the two countries on Friday morning.

Beijing announced the drills – expected to run until Sunday – in six zones around Taiwan after Pelosi landed on the evening of Tuesday Aug. 2.

China’s military said it had activated more than 100 planes and over 10 warships, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

“The U.S.-Taiwan collusion and provocation will only push Taiwan towards the abyss of disaster, bringing catastrophe to Taiwan compatriots,” China’s defense ministry said, Reuters reported.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said it had fired flares and scrambled jets to drive away drones and Chinese fighter aircraft, Reuters reported.

It said it is continuing to monitor the situation and remains on high alert, CNN reported.

“This deliberate and continuous increase in military threats, missile launching on the world’s busiest shipping lanes, is not only against Taiwan, but also against the international community,” Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen said in a video to the people of Taiwan.

“We will not escalate conflict or provoke disputes, but we will firmly defend sovereignty and national security, and stand by the line of democracy and freedom,” she said.

“China has chosen to overreact and use the speaker’s visit as a pretext to increase provocative military activity in and around the Taiwan Strait,” the White House said, condemning it as “irresponsible”.

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