Tensions Escalate After China Military Drills Near Taiwan
China has flexed its military prowess in a recent large-scale exercise in seas around Taiwan.
The nation said its soldiers are "ready to fight" after conducting a simulation that sealed off the island. The military flexing followed Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen's visit to the U.S. last week.
China conducted a similar exercise, which included missile strikes on targets near Taiwan, last summer when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.
Despite the exercise, it was business as usual in the surrounding waters. The Associated Press reported that maritime traffic "largely continued as normal."
Early Monday, the People's Liberation Army launched its Shandong aircraft carrier into the military exercise, which some speculate could be used to ward off aid for foreign countries looking to defend Taiwan.
With tensions rising in the region, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it was not looking to escalate conflict with China.
Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said the false alarm "may have been a bogus call" but that law enforcement agencies are ready to stop any attempt to disrupt the court case of former President Donald Trump, who was indicted Tuesday on charges of trying to overthrow the 2020 election.
The federal judge assigned to the election fraud case against former President Donald Trump has stood out as one of the toughest punishers of rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attack fueled by Trump's baseless claims of a stolen election. She has also ruled against him before.
