China military drills are 'significant escalation', says Antony Blinken

China's military drills were launched following a visit earlier this week by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan that infuriated Beijing.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Augsut 5, 2022 that China's military exercises aimed at Taiwan including missiles fired into Japan's exclusive economic zone represent a “significant escalation.”

China's military drills were launched following a visit earlier this week by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan that infuriated Beijing.

“China has chosen to overreact and use Speaker Pelosi’s visit as a pretext to increase provocative military activity in and around the Taiwan Strait," Mr. Blinken said at a news conference in the Cambodian capital.

Mr. Blinken also said the U.S. stands in “strong solidarity” with Japan following the “dangerous actions China has taken.”

Earlier, Mr. Blinken joined the foreign ministers of Russia and China at a meeting with top diplomats from Southeast Asia at a time when the global powers are riven by tensions.

The East Asia Summit of the ongoing Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Cambodia's capital was the first time the three men were scheduled to take part in the same forum.

It came a day after WNBA star Brittney Griner was convicted of drug possession and sentenced to nine years in prison by Russia in a politically charged case amid antagonisms over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.