They initially lasted from 4–7 August 2022 and involved live-fire drills, air sorties, naval deployments, and ballistic missile launches by the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

[17][19] In a biennial report released in November 2021, the ROC Ministry of Defense warned that the PRC had obtained the capacity to surround and blockade the island's harbours, airports, and outbound flight routes.

[21][22] The week before Nancy Pelosi's visit, Xi Jinping warned Joe Biden in a phone call that Washington should abide by the One China principle and that "those who play with fire will perish by it".

[24] On 2 August, in response to Pelosi's visit, the People's Republic of China announced four days of military live-fire drills,[8] in six zones that encircle the island on the busiest international waterways and aviation routes.

[25] In response to the announcement, ROC officials complained that the PLA's live-fire drills were an invasion of Taiwan's territorial space and a direct challenge to free air and sea navigation.

[32] While the PLA live-fire exercises were ongoing on 4 August, the US carrier strike group of the USS Ronald Reagan was conducting military operations in the Philippine Sea, including waters to the southeast of Taiwan.

[33] However, the US also cancelled the planned test launch of a Minuteman III missile, which was scheduled to happen during the same week the crisis started, in order to avoid escalating tensions with China further.

"[12][13] Japanese defense minister Nobuo Kishi condemned the Chinese military's action, saying that some missiles fired by China landed in Japan's EEZ and calling the incident "a grave issue that concerns our country’s national security and the safety of the people".

[41] State news agency KCNA reported that a DPRK foreign ministry spokesman supported the PRC's "righteous stand" and that North Koreans "denounce any external force's intervention in Taiwan".

On 5 August 2022, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the Philippines and said that the US would seek to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait in order to keep the region safe and the international waterway open.

[45][46]Together with Australia and Japan, the US signed a joint statement on 6 August that condemned the firing of missiles into Japanese exclusive economic zones and accused China of "raising tension and destabilizing the region.