The Government issued a brief statement saying that the drills will last 14 days, and issued a navigation alert and restricted the passage of civilian vessels.

The Chinese military launched similar operations in the South Sea on Friday and off the coast of Taiwan on Saturday, amid heightened tensions over the possible visit of US government House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s to Taipei.

Local television showed a video of the launch of the DF-17 hypersonic missile, almost impossible to intercept, capable of hitting moving targets. Other videos circulated spread over social networks also showed live-fire drills near the airspace of Taiwan.

Beijing reiterated in recent days its opposition to Pelosi’s trip and to all kinds of official exchanges with Taiwan, and stressed that it will proceed with decisive actions to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Local analysts indicated that if Pelosi insists on visiting Taiwan, the PLA would react by sending fighters to intercept her plane, declare the restriction of the air space and the sea around the island, deploy missiles off its coast, and launch further drills.

Wu Yongping, a well-known analist from Tsinghua University, stated that China would even apply comprehensive countermeasures encompassing the military, diplomatic, economic and public opinion fields, which could ultimately trigger Taiwan’s reunification.

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