China holds 'punishment' drills around Taiwan after inauguration of new president

Taiwanese air force Mirage 2000 fighter jets wait for take off at a base in Hsinchu in northern Taiwan on May 23rd, 2024. Photograph: YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images China is holding two days of military drills surrounding Taiwan, as "punishment" for what it called the "separatist acts" of holding an election and inaugurating a new president. Chinese state media claimed that dozens of People's Liberation Army (PLA) fighter jets carrying live missiles had carried out mock strikes against "high value military targets", operating alongside navy and rocket forces. Propaganda images spreading online and republished by state media also mentioned…