Taiwan blasted its "evil neighbour next door" on Friday after China encircled the island with a series of huge military drills that were condemned by the United States and other Western allies.

During Thursday's military exercises, which continued Friday, China fired ballistic missiles and deployed both fighter jets and warships around Taiwan.

The People's Liberation Army declared multiple no-go danger zones around Taiwan, straddling some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and at some points coming within 20 kilometres (12 miles) of the island's shores.

Beijing has said the exercises will continue until midday Sunday, and Taipei reported that Chinese fighter jets and ships crossed the "median line" that runs down the Taiwan Strait on Friday morning.

"As of 11am, multiple batches of Chinese warplanes and warships conducted exercises around the Taiwan Strait and crossed the median line of the strait," Taipei's defence ministry said in a statement.

The median line is an unofficial but once largely adhered-to border that runs down the middle of the Taiwan Strait, which separates Taiwan and China.

Chinese incursions have become more common since Beijing declared in 2020 that the unofficial border no longer existed.

AFP journalists on the picturesque Chinese island of Pingtan saw a fighter jet flying overhead, prompting tourists to snap photos as it flew along the coast.

A Chinese military vessel was also visible sailing through the Taiwan Strait, they added.

Beijing has insisted its war games are a "necessary" response to a visit to the self-ruled, democratic island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but Washington countered that China's leaders had "chosen to overreact".

Pelosi defended her visit Friday, saying Washington would "not allow" China to isolate Taiwan.

"We have said from the start that our representation here is not about changing the status quo here in Asia, changing the status quo in Taiwan," she told reporters in Tokyo on the final leg of an Asia tour.

Taiwan's premier Su Tseng-chang, meanwhile, called for allies to push for de-escalation.

"(We) didn't expect that the evil neighbour next door would show off its power at our door and arbitrarily jeopardise the busiest waterways in the world with its military exercises," he told reporters.

- Missiles over Taiwan -

China's drills involved a "conventional missile firepower assault" in waters to the east of Taiwan, the Chinese military said.

The state-run Xinhua news agency said the Chinese military "flew more than 100 warplanes including fighters and bombers" during the exercises, as well as "over 10 destroyers and frigates".

State broadcaster CCTV reported that Chinese missiles had flown directly over Taiwan.

Japan also claimed that of the nine missiles it had detected, four were "believed to have flown over Taiwan's main island".

Taipei's military said it would not confirm missile flight paths, in a bid to protect its intelligence capabilities and not allow China "to intimidate us".

- 'Temperature's pretty high' -

China's ruling Communist Party views Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to one day take it, by force if necessary.

But the scale and intensity of the drills have triggered outrage in the United States and other democracies.

"China has chosen to overreact and use the speaker's visit as a pretext to increase provocative military activity in and around the Taiwan Strait," John Kirby, a White House spokesman, told reporters.

"The temperature's pretty high", but tensions "can come down very easily by just having the Chinese stop these very aggressive military drills", he added.

Japan lodged a formal diplomatic complaint against Beijing, with five of China's missiles believed to have landed in its exclusive economic zone.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called China's exercises a "serious problem that impacts our national security and the safety of our citizens" and called for an "immediate cancellation of the military drills".

But Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the "flagrant provocation" by the United States had set an "egregious precedent".

- Trading places -

The manoeuvres are taking place along some of the busiest shipping routes on the planet, used to supply vital semiconductors and electronic equipment produced in East Asian factory hubs to global markets.

Taiwan's Maritime and Port Bureau has warned ships to avoid the areas being used for the Chinese drills.

"The shutting down of these transport routes -- even temporarily -- has consequences not only for Taiwan, but also trade flows tied to Japan and South Korea," Nick Marro, the Economist Intelligence Unit's lead analyst for global trade, wrote in a note.

Taiwan said the drills would disrupt 18 international routes passing through its flight information region while several international airlines told AFP they would divert flights.

But markets in Taipei appeared to shrug off the tensions, with the Taiwan Taiex Shipping and Transportation Index, which tracks major shipping and airline stocks, up 2.3 percent early Friday.

And analysts broadly agree that despite all its aggressive posturing, Beijing does not want an active military conflict against the United States and its allies over Taiwan -- just yet.

"The last thing Xi wants is an accidental war ignited," Titus Chen, an associate professor of political science at the National Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan, told AFP.

Seven decades of China-Taiwan relations
Taipei (AFP) Aug 4, 2022 - As China embarks on its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei, AFP looks back at relations between the self-governing island and Beijing, which views it as part of China.

- 1949: separation -

Mao Zedong's communists take power in Beijing in October 1949 after defeating Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang (KMT) nationalists in a civil war.

The KMT flee to the island of Taiwan and form their own government in Taipei in December, cutting off contacts with mainland China.

In 1950, Taiwan becomes an ally of the United States, which is at war with communist China in Korea. The US deploys a fleet in the Taiwan Strait to protect its ally from possible attack.

- 1971: Beijing gets UN, US nods -

In October 1971, Beijing takes over China's seat at the United Nations, previously held by Taipei.

In 1979, the United States cuts formal ties with Taiwan and establishes diplomatic relations with Beijing instead.

Washington goes on to develop a nuanced Taiwan policy were it "acknowledges" China's claim to the island, which is not the same as accepting Beijing's claim of sovereignty.

The US also maintains trade and military ties with Taipei. It opposes both Taiwanese independence and any attempt by China to forcibly take the island.

- 1987-2004: relations improve -

In late 1987, Taiwan residents are for the first time permitted to visit mainland China, allowing families to reunite.

In 1991, Taiwan lifts emergency rule, unilaterally ending a state of war with China. The first direct talks between the two sides are held in Singapore two years later.

But in 1995, Beijing suspends talks in protest at a visit by Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui to the United States.

In 1996, China tests missiles off Taiwan to deter voters in the island's first democratic presidential election.

In 2000 elections, the KMT loses power in Taiwan for the first time. Over the next few years trade links between the two sides improve.

- 2005-2015: threats and talks -

In March 2005, Beijing adopts a law authorising the use of force if Taiwan declares independence. In April, KMT chairman Lien Chan makes a landmark visit to Beijing for talks with Chinese leader Hu Jintao.

In 2008, Taiwan and China resume high-level talks after the KMT's Ma Ying-jeou is elected president on a Beijing-friendly platform.

In 2010, they sign a sweeping Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement and in 2014 hold the first government-to-government talks since separation.

- 2016: honeymoon over -

In January 2016, Tsai Ing-wen, from the traditionally pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, wins presidential elections.

In June, China suspends all communications with Taiwan after the new government fails to acknowledge the "One China" policy.

In December 2016, US president-elect Donald Trump breaks with decades of US diplomatic policy by speaking directly, by telephone, with Tsai.

In January 2019, Xi Jinping says that the unification of China and Taiwan is "inevitable".

- 2021: US-China tensions -

In 2021, Chinese military jets make hundreds of incursions into Taiwan's defence zone.

In October, US President Joe Biden says the United States will defend Taiwan if China attacks it, in comments later partly walked back by the White House.

Tsai confirms that a small number of US troops are present in Taiwan to help train its forces.

- 2022: Pelosi visit sparks fury -

On August 2, after days of speculation and stern warnings from Beijing of unspecified "consequences", US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lands in Taiwan during a tour of Asia.

The highest-profile elected US official to visit the island in 25 years says her visit demonstrates her country's "unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan's vibrant democracy".

A furious China vows "punishment" and launches its largest-ever military exercises in the area, encircling Taiwan on August 4.

The exercises include the deployment of fighter jets and warships, and the firing of ballistic missiles.

Related Links
Taiwan News at SinoDaily.com

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Chinese fighter jets and warships crossed median line, says Taiwan
Taipei (AFP) Aug 5, 2022
Taipei's military said Chinese fighter jets and ships crossed the median line that runs down the Taiwan Strait on Friday, calling Beijing's latest military drills "highly provocative". "As of 11am, multiple batches of Chinese warplanes and warships conducted exercises around the Taiwan Strait and crossed the median line of the strait," the defence ministry said in a statement. "This Chinese military exercise, whether it be the launch of ballistic missiles or the deliberate crossing of the median ... read more