In an initial statement, China announced that the armed exercises would not take place until Tuesday, but by lunchtime on Monday activity had already begun in both the sea and the air around the self-governing island.
The exercises are to be seen as "a stern warning to Taiwanese independence separatists," according to a statement. The army, navy, air force and the country's rocket force will all participate, the statement added.
The announcement was quickly condemned in Taipei. A spokesman for President Lai Ching-Te said Taiwan sees China’s upcoming exercises as a "military scare tactic" and believes they go against the international order. Taiwan’s military also announced that "appropriate forces" have been deployed in response.
The government in Beijing considers Taiwan to be part of China, but in practice Taiwan has been self-governing and separate since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
The Taiwan issue is a charged one in China's foreign policy.
Relations between China and Japan have recently deteriorated after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made statements about Japanese military intervention in the event of a possible Chinese attack on Taiwan.
Tensions with the US are also high over Taiwan. In mid-December, the US government approved a large-scale arms sale to Taiwan. The deal is worth the equivalent of approximately SEK 100 billion.
China reacted strongly to the announcement and urged the US to immediately stop the "dangerous actions" of arming Taiwan.
