Fighter jets took off from the deck of a Chinese aircraft carrier

On the final day of military activity around Taiwan, China practised aerial and drills to simulate how they could seal off the water and airspace around the island.

Beijing has now concluded three days of military exercises off the coast of Taiwan – as they look to send a warning to the island’s president after she met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.

It’s a similar pattern of events to what we saw last year when Nancy Pelosi made a controversial trip to Taipei.

On the last day of combat exercises China deployed its Shandong aircraft carrier – with fighter jets taking off from the deck of the ship.

This was the first time that the Shandong had taken part in these exercises.

This exercise has been ongoing since Saturday, with Taipei detecting numerous ships and jets in the water and skies around the island.

As well as rehearsing blockade procedures, China has also simulated strikes on the island.

China sees Taiwan as its own territory and wants to eventually bring it back under Beijing’s control.

The island is self ruled by its own democratically-elected government.

The response to these drills from Taipei has been muted.

Taiwan’s military says it will respond calmly to these exercises and life on the island has pretty much continued as normal.

It’s likely that Chinese planes and ships will continue to be sent towards the island on a regular basis, but a relative calm should return to the waters and the skies around Taiwan. #trending