They occur days after Lai was sworn in and months following drills.
The exercises reaffirm China’s claim over Taiwan, which is a self-governing territory and is at the center of the dispute.
Beijing has not ruled out using force to accomplish its goal of incorporating the island as a breakaway province as part of the nation.
Although the majority support preserving the current situation, in which Taiwan neither declares independence from China nor unites with it, many Taiwanese believe they belong to a distinct country.
What is the background of Taiwan-China relations?
Austronesian tribal people, said to have originated in present-day southern China, were the first known settlers of Taiwan.
An emperor sent an invasion force to the island in AD 239, according to Chinese sources, which Beijing claims to support its territorial claim.
Taiwan was governed by China’s Qing dynasty following a comparatively short period as a Dutch colony. Following Japan’s victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, Taiwan was given to Tokyo.
Japan gave up control of the land it had seized from China following World War Two. With the approval of its allies, the United States and the United Kingdom, the Republic of China (ROC) subsequently came to power and formally conquered Taiwan.
