Taiwan will practice thwarting a Chinese "invasion" in annual live fire drills in June, simulating surprise coastal assaults to reflect increased military threats from Beijing, officials said Tuesday.

China's growing military is increasingly flexing its muscles and held live-fire drills last week in the Taiwan Strait — the narrow waterway separating the Chinese mainland from Taiwan — following weeks of naval manoeuvres in the area.

Chinese officials said their drills were to safeguard Beijing's territorial sovereignty, a major priority for President Xi Jinping.

Although Taiwan is a self-ruling democracy, it has never formally declared independence from the mainland and Beijing still sees it as a renegade province to be brought back into the fold, by force if necessary.

Cross-strait relations have steadily deteriorated since 2016 when President Tsai Ing-wen took office, largely because she refuses to accept that Taiwan is part of "one China", and because Beijing is deeply suspicious of her traditionally pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.

Taiwan's five-day drill, codenamed "Han Kuang", which means "Han Glory", will start from June 4.

"Simply put, the main goal of the drill is to make any Chinese communist military mission to invade Taiwan fail," defence ministry spokesman Chen Chung-chi told reporters.

"It simulates this year's situation and we are taking into consideration China's air and naval movements in the region," he added.

This year's drill will enlist the coastguard and National Airborne Service Corps, which handles rescue flights, for the first time for "comprehensive defence", Chen said.

Civilian drones will also participate in the drill for the first time to conduct surveillance and mark targets, while civilian telecom service providers will assist in maintaining communication and control, the ministry said.

"It's not just soldiers' duties to protect the country. Everyone has the responsibility since our defence budget is limited," Chen said.

Taipei dismissed China's military exercises in the Taiwan Strait last week as "routine" after expected large-scale naval manoeuvres failed to materialise and called it the "cheapest way of verbal intimidation and sabre-rattling".

Chinese state media reported Tuesday that a flotilla of Chinese naval vessels held a "live combat drill" in the East China Sea, the latest show of force in disputed waters that have riled neighbours.

Earlier this month Chinese president Xi inspected the convoy as it conducted exercises in the disputed South China Sea.

The flotilla then held two separate drills last week in waters on either side of Taiwan, infuriating the government in Taipei.

Chinese carrier leads live fire drill in East China Sea
Beijing (AFP) April 24, 2018 –

China's sole aircraft carrier has led a flotilla of naval vessels in a "live combat drill" in the East China Sea, state media reported Tuesday, the latest show of force by Beijing's burgeoning navy.

The official Xinhua news agency said the vessels "took part in anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare training" with a simulated "opposing force".

Xinhua said the drill, which took place on Sunday, included multiple take-offs from the deck of the Liaoning aircraft carrier by J-15 fighter jets and that "anti-air missiles were fired from ships surrounding the carrier".

The manoeuvre occurred in the East China Sea, though the report did not give an exact location.

The sea is home to uninhabited islets at the centre of a festering row between Tokyo and Beijing. The Japanese government has long complained about China's routine dispatch of coast guard ships to waters surrounding the islands.

The presence of a naval convoy carrying out live fire drills in the East China Sea could anger Tokyo.

The Liaoning is a refurbished Cold War-era aircraft carrier that was bought from Ukraine and commissioned in 2012.

It has been on a high-visibility tour in recent weeks, carrying out a series of muscle-flexing drills accompanied by a flotilla of support ships, including destroyers.

Earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping inspected the convoy as it conducted exercises in the disputed South China Sea.

Beijing asserts sovereignty over almost all of the resource-rich waterway, building an archipelago of artificial islands there capable of hosting military equipment, despite rival claims from several of its Southeast Asian neighbours.

The flotilla then held two separate drills last week in waters on either side of Taiwan, infuriating the government in Taipei.

China sees democratically-governed Taiwan as a renegade part of its territory to be brought back into the fold and has not ruled out reunification by force.

The Liaoning is the pride of China's rapidly expanding navy, with Beijing determined to become a major global naval power, particularly in the Pacific.

The state-run Global Times newspaper said China's first home-made carrier started moving from its berth on Monday as it prepares for its first sea trial, while a third, more advanced model is under construction in a Shanghai shipyard.

China's chief Pacific rival the United States currently boasts 11 operating aircraft carriers and two more currently under construction.