China taking 'necessary measures' over Taiwan

TAIPEI - China said on Dec 11 it takes "necessary measures" to defend the country's sovereignty and will not tolerate "separatist" activities, as Taiwan reported another rise in Chinese warplanes around the island and called on Beijing to halt provocations.

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China's military has yet to comment and has not confirmed that it is carrying out any military exercises.

A senior Taiwanese official said Taiwan believed the surge in activity was meant to send a political message to the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

A security diplomat in the region briefed on the matter told Reuters that the scale and size of the ongoing Chinese operations, including the manpower being dispatched, was "unheard of" in recent years.

"We have not seen anything like this in at least the past few years," the person said, declining to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, had been expected to launch drills to express its anger at President Lai Ching-te's tour of the Pacific that ended on Dec 6, and which included stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam.

"We will absolutely not let things go unchecked," Ms Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said when asked about the increased military activities.