Beijing/Washington — China's People's Liberation Army conducted its largest-scale military exercises in the Taiwan Strait in over a decade this week, deploying carrier battle groups, dozens of warships, and hundreds of aircraft in a show of force that drew immediate condemnation from the United States and its allies.

The Pentagon described the exercises as 'destabilizing and irresponsible' and announced it had repositioned two carrier strike groups to the region as a 'precautionary' measure.