US Says China’s Taiwan Drills ‘Unnecessarily’ Upped Tensions

The US State Department said China’s military drills around Taiwan had “unnecessarily” raised tensions and urged Beijing to cease military pressure against the self-ruled island, after President Donald Trump initially shrugged off concerns.

“China’s military activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan and others in the region increase tensions unnecessarily,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement on New Year’s Day, some 48 hours after the People’s Liberation Army wrapped exercises covering the largest combined area in decades.