Recent Chinese air and sea drills simulating an encirclement of Taiwan were intended as a “serious warning” to pro-independence politicians on the self-governing island and their foreign supporters, a Chinese spokesperson said Wednesday.

The three days of large-scale air and sea exercises named Joint Sword that ended Monday were a response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California last week during a transit visit to the US China had warned of serious consequences if that meeting went ahead.