Pompeo dismisses China’s ‘actual combat exercises’ in Taiwan Strait as ‘military blustering’

News Snapshot:

China conducted "actual combat exercises" in the Taiwan Strait as a senior American diplomat visited Taipei, drawing a contemptuous response from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “We sent the delegation to a funeral, and the Chinese have apparently responded by military blustering,” Pompeo told reporters while traveling in Guyana. “I’ll leave it at that.” A contingent of 18 warplanes sallied into Taiwan’s air defense zone earlier Friday, including two bombers and 16 fighter jets, according to Taiwanese defense officials. That show of force was intended as a rebuke of Pompeo’s decision to send State Department Undersecretary Keith Krach to Taipei,...