China starts biggest-ever military drills around Taiwan in wake of Pelosi's visit

China fired ballistic missiles and deployed fighter jets and warships on Thursday as it began its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan, a show of force sparked by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island.

Pelosi was the highest-profile U.S. official to visit Taiwan in years, defying a series of stark threats from Beijing, which views the self-ruled island as its territory.

In retaliation, China launched a series of exercises in multiple zones around Taiwan, straddling some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and at some points just 12 miles from the island's shore.