Taiwan has scrambled fighter jets, put its navy on alert and activated missile systems in response to large-scale manoeuvres of 34 Chinese military aircraft and nine warships in the Taiwan Strait.
Beijing yesterday instructed its air force and navy to perform a major operation which saw 20 Chinese aircraft cross the central line of the Strait, long seen as a buffer zone between the island nation and mainland China, according to Taiwanese defence officials.
It is the latest escalation of tensions between the two states and comes after weeks of Chinese military drills close to Taiwanese air space, leading Taipei and its US allies to be wary of a potential blockade or outright attack.
China's alarming military manoeuvres came just hours after foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning declared Beijing 'does not promise to renounce the use of force' in its efforts to reunify.
China has for weeks sent warships, bombers, fighter jets and support aircraft into airspace near Taiwan on a near daily basis, hoping to wear down the island's limited defence resources and undercut support for pro-independence President Tsai Ing-wen.
Chinese fighter jets have also confronted military aircraft from the US and allied nations over international airspace in the South China and East China seas, in what Beijing has described as dangerous and threatening manoeuvres.
Taiwan has responded to China's threats by ordering more defensive weaponry from the US, leveraging its democracy and high-tech economy to strengthen foreign relations and revitalising its domestic arms industry.
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