Chinese President Xi Jinping made a surprise visit to observe naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea while Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen watched naval drills simulating an attack on the island on Friday. The two leaders’ activities further heightened tension in the vital South China Sea waterway, where Beijing has built several artificial islands capable of hosting military equipment. Beijing is also set to hold live-fire exercises in the nearby Taiwan Strait that separates the island-nation from the Chinese mainland.

War games roil South China Sea. (2018, April 14). Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A14.