Chinese military drills are announced in the Taiwan Strait

AFP, Beijing, April 8 - China made a three-day military exercise in the Taiwan Strait official announcement on Saturday. "United Sharp Sword" will take place from April 8 to April 10 in order to "improve combat readiness," according to the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command.

"United Sharp Sword" would feature police patrol drills in the Taiwan Strait, "to the north and south of Taiwan, and in the sea and airspace to the east of Taiwan," according to Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokeswoman for the Eastern Theatre of the PLA.

The exercises' precise location wasn't made clear. The Taiwanese defense ministry reported on Saturday that it had spotted 13 Chinese aircraft and three warships in the area of the island.

The exercises' precise location wasn't made clear. The Taiwanese defense ministry reported on Saturday that on the previous day, the island had been the target of 13 Chinese aircraft and three vessels.

In a morning dispatch, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said that "4 of the detected aircraft had crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line and entered Taiwan's southeast ADIZ."

China's action on Saturday comes after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met in California.

Self-governing Taiwan is considered to be a part of Chinese territory, and China has pledged to one day annex it, using force if necessary.

Following a visit to the island by McCarthy's predecessor Nancy Pelosi, China made its greatest display of force in years in August by deploying warships, missiles, and fighter planes all around Taiwan.

On Pingtan, an island in southwest China that is considered to be the closest part of the Chinese mainland to Taiwan, there were no early indications of increased military action.

On a Saturday morning, tour operators led groups of day-trippers around the shoreline as other tourists watched the rough seas of the strait.

A military tugboat and three army helicopters were spotted Friday by AFP journalists passing through the waters around Pingtan, although it was unclear if they indicated increased activity.

Beijing maintained that Taiwan is still a "inseparable part" of its territory on Friday as it dispatched warships and planes to the area for a second day.

Tsai visited Taiwan's diminishing number of formal diplomatic allies in Latin America on Friday. During her two stops in the US, she had discussions with McCarthy and other politicians.

She assured reporters that her trip had been successful, adding that "we will never yield to suppression." She also stated that she had "let the international community see that Taiwan is more united when facing pressure and threats."

China moved its Shandong aircraft carrier through Taiwan's southeast seas on its approach to the western Pacific hours before meeting with McCarthy in California on Wednesday.

Beijing warned against the Tsai-McCarthy meeting several times before declaring earlier on Friday that "Taiwan is an inseparable part of China."

At a routine news conference, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry, declared that "China's sovereignty and territorial integrity will never be divided."

The reunification of Taiwan with the motherland is essential for its future.

As the EU works to mend fences with Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping recently met his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.