'Cease military pressure': US reacts to China's drills around Taiwan; calls for restraint

United States on Thursday took note of China's military exercise around Taiwan, claiming that it "increases tensions unnecessarily."In a press statement, the department of state urged Beijing to exercise restraint and cease its military pressure against Taiwan."China's military activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan and others in the region increase tensions unnecessarily. We urge Beijing to exercise restraint, cease its military pressure against Taiwan, and instead engage in meaningful dialogue," department of state said. "The United States supports peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposes unilateral changes to the status quo, including by force or coercion," it added.This comes after China's recent live-fire military exercise heightened strains between Taiwan and Beijing. The two-day exercise, which concluded on December 31, involved extensive naval and air deployments and was widely seen as a show of force aimed at pressuring the self-governed island. The PLA conducted military exercises dubbed "Justice Mission-2025" across five maritime areas and airspace surrounding Taiwan, describing them as a "stern warning" to so-called "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, reported Focus TaiwanTaiwan's ministry of national defence reported that the PLA launched 27 rockets on the second day of the drills, with 10 landing in waters within Taiwan's 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone, marking the closest Chinese live-fire activity ever recorded near Taiwan.On Friday the ministry said, 6 PLAN vessel and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 am 2 PRC balloons were also detected during this timeframe. The Taiwan's authorities say their Armed Forces have monitored the situation and responded.Meanwhile, the European Union, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines all voiced serious concern over the drills. In a statement, the European External Action Service stressed that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are vital to global security and prosperity, warning against any unilateral attempt to alter the status quo through coercion or military means.