Taiwan president defends US trip as island set to begin its own military drills

Tsai Ing-wen said it was critical for democracies to stand up to ‘continued authoritarian expansionism’

• China-Taiwan tensions explained in 30 seconds

Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen has said her trip to the US showed the island’s commitment to defend democracy, as the Taiwanese military is expected to begin its own drills.

Tsai’s US visit, during which she met with the House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, angered China’s government which ordered several days of military drills directed at Taiwan.