China’s military on Monday dispatched air, navy and rocket troops to conduct joint military drills around the island of Taiwan. Beijing called the move a “stern warning” against separatist and “external interference” forces.

In response, Taiwan said it was placing its forces on alert and called the Chinese government “the biggest destroyer of peace”. The drills came after Beijing expressed anger at US arms sales to the territory and a statement by Japan’s prime minister. Sanae Takaichi said Japanese forces could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan, the self-governing island that the world’s second-biggest economy says must come under its rule. But the Chinese military did not mention the United States and Japan in its statement on Monday morning.

In a post on X, Taiwan’s defence ministry confirmed rapid response exercises were underway, with forces on high alert to defend the island around 100 miles off the coast of China.

In a separate statement, it said it had also deployed appropriate forces in response, conducting combat readiness drills.

“The Chinese Communist Party’s targeted military exercises further confirm its nature as an aggressor and the biggest destroyer of peace,” the ministry said.

Ships from Taiwan’s coast guard have also been mobilised in response to the activity.

Officials said two Chinese military aircraft and 11 ships had been operating around Taiwan over the past 24 hours.

The Reuters news agency reported Taipei’s aviation authority said China had designated a “temporary danger zone” in the island’s airspace for 10 hours of live fire drills. 

A spokesperson for China’s People Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command said the drills would take place in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south-west, south-east and east of the island.

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