BEIJING, Aug 10 (Bloomberg) - China’s military said exercises held around Taiwan in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit had concluded, while pledging to continue regular patrols near the island.

The statement by the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command on Wednesday ended ambiguity on the status of the drills days after six maritime exclusion zones around Taiwan officially expired. Chinese ships and warplanes have continued to operate nearby this week, in what military analysts describe as an attempt to erode a decades-old buffer zone between the island and the mainland.