"Maritime traffic in the designated areas will be prohibited during the exercise," the administration said.

The war games will be held at the mouth of the Zhu Jiang river and near Wailingding Island from 7 a.m. (GMT 23:00 on August 22) to 2 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

China launched a series of war games near Taiwan, an island it claims as its territory, after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei on August 2. Another group of Democrat lawmakers flew to the island days later.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Thursday that Chinese military exercises near Taiwan were "necessary and legitimate" both as a response to US provocations and as a step to uphold China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

(With UNI inputs)