Taiwan Invasion: US 'Playing With Fire' Despite China Sending Clear Warning Signals With Military Drills

Tensions in the Taiwan region escalated as China began live drills around the island nation Monday, amid the first U.S. congress delegation's arrival in Taipei on Sunday.

The visit, which comes 12 days after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's arrival in Taiwan, further proves Washington is not doing anything to ease the tensions, Chinese experts said.

"This is a resolute counterstrike and solemn deterrence to the consecutive provocations by the US and Taiwan that undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," Wu Qian, a spokesman for China's defense ministry, said in a statement about the drills, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Chinese experts said, according to the Global Times, that Beijing will definitely impose sanctions on the visiting lawmakers as a countermeasure, adding China's military drills around Taiwan are a loud and clear-cut warning signal. But, the U.S. is still "playing with fire," and stirring tensions in the regions by ignoring Beijing's threats.

Experts believe Washington's actions are worsening regional peace, and sooner or later, they will be "burned" and punished.

"This visit serves another example of the U.S. trying to get its way in global security affairs, and insists on creating crises as well as turbulence globally," the expert said, according to the Global Times.

Democratic Senator Ed Markey led the delegation that arrived in Taipei on a U.S. Air Force plane Sunday evening.

Markey said in a tweet he and his group had traveled to the island "to reaffirm US support for Taiwan and encourage stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait."

Pelosi's sudden visit to Taiwan earlier this month drew unprecedented military pressure from Beijing.

On Sunday, Taiwan authorities said they detected 22 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft and six naval ships in and around the Taiwan Straits.

China carried out a series of massive war games near Taiwan for a week from Aug. 4 in retaliation to Pelosi's visit. Beijing has said it would take back Taiwan, which identifies itself as a self-governed island, by force if necessary.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry also sanctioned Pelosi and her immediate family members over the visit.

"China is responding to these provocations across all fronts: diplomatic, informational, military and economic," Andy Mok, a senior research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization said, according to SCMP.

"And we can expect further responses in both scope and magnitude as provocations and responses continue to escalate."