BEIJING, August 17. /TASS/. China’s armed forces will on Friday conduct further drills in the South China Sea, the Hainan Maritime Safety Administration announced on Wednesday.

The drills will be conducted in two water areas between 10:00am and 1:00pm local time (5:00am and 8:00am Moscow time) on August 19, the administration said in a statement. Civilian vessels should stay away from the zone of the drills, it added.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted similar maneuvers in the South China Sea on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, the country’s armed forces launched an exercise that will last till Friday in the Yellow Sea.

Since early August, the PLA has conducted a series of drills along China’s coast amid tensions in the Taiwan Strait following a Taipei visit on August 2-3 by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Chinese Army also held maneuvers with firings of missiles in six areas around Taiwan.

The latest drills could be in response to a two-day visit to Taiwan earlier this week by US legislators. The five-member delegation included Democratic and Republican representatives. Their visit to the island also drew sharp criticism in Beijing.