The United States said China's military activities around Taiwan only serve to "exacerbate tensions" and "put the region's security at risk."China is putting regional security at risk by holding military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, the United States warned Tuesday, as China announced new drills in the politically sensitive waters. China's "aggressive" military activities and rhetoric towards Taiwan "only serve to exacerbate tensions and put the region's security and the world's prosperity at risk," the US State Department said in a statement. What are Chinese drills in the Taiwan Straight? The statement from Washington came as China's military began a second day of major drills in the waters and airspace around Taiwan on Wednesday. The military exercise under the code name Strait Thunder-2025A is taking place in the southern and central Taiwan Strait. China says the drills are focused on honing the ability to blockade the island and make precision strikes. More than 10 Chinese warships were in Taiwan's "response zone" on Wednesday morning, according to a senior Taiwan security official, Reuters reported. The official was referring to Taiwan's air defense identification zone, a self-defined area tracked by the military. In the past 24 hours, 76 Chinese military aircraft and 15 warships have been counted, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense said. Taiwan has denounced China for holding the drills but has said it has seen no sign of live-fire exercises so far. Edited by John Silk