Beijing said the exercises served as “punishment” for Taiwanese separatist forces advocating for independence and were a serious warning against interference and provocation by external forces.
Friday’s meeting touched on the drills, with Washington saying it “shared deep concerns” and reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, according to a US State Department statement.
Beijing urged Washington to stop supporting “Taiwan independence”, which it said “poses the greatest threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”.
“The US should immediately cease its support and indulgence of ‘Taiwan independence’ forces and fulfil its commitment of not supporting Taiwan independence,” the Chinese readout said.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China, to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.
The two sides on Friday also discussed maritime disputes in the South China Sea and East China Sea, where Beijing has overlapping territorial claims with other countries.
Expressing its “serious concerns”, Beijing said US actions in the waters surrounding China had infringed upon its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights.
“We urged the US to refrain from interfering in maritime disputes between China and its neighbours, and not to form exclusive blocs trying to contain China through maritime situations,” the Chinese statement said.
Washington said Beijing had engaged in “dangerous and destabilising actions” that disrupted the freedom of navigation of other countries on the high seas, according to the US readout.
“[We] reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad alliance commitments and steadfast support for upholding the international law of the sea,” it said.
China claims most of the resource-rich South China Sea – claims that overlap with those of Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Friday’s US-China talks were the second bilateral consultation on maritime affairs since a meeting in Beijing in November. Chinese and US military officials also held two days of talks on maritime and air security in April in Hawaii.
“The two sides agreed to maintain dialogue and communication, avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation, and control maritime risks,” the Chinese statement on Tuesday said.