Taiwan's defence ministry said on Sunday that China had nearly doubled the number of its warships operating around the island in the previous 24 hours, ahead of what security sources expect will be a new round of war games.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has been angered by visits by President Lai Ching-te to Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam as part of a Pacific tour. Lai returned from the week-long trip on Friday night.

Beijing has held two rounds of war games around Taiwan this year.

In its daily morning report on Chinese military activities, Taiwan's defence ministry said there were 14 Chinese warships operating nearby, up from the eight it reported the previous day.

The ministry said it had detected four Chinese balloons flying over the Taiwan Strait, one of which had brushed the top of the island.

Weather will likely be a factor in China's decision on any war games, security sources say. Weather in the strait has been poor this weekend.

China's defence ministry did not answer calls to its news office seeking comment outside of office hours on Sunday.

But in a strongly worded commentary on its WeChat account on Sunday, China's Ministry of State Security said Lai's efforts to "use arms to seek independence" and cosy up to the United States were doomed to fail.

Taiwan's government is putting on a "false display of power" while the U.S. government is "acting in cahoots with gangsters and jackals" in supporting Taiwan, it said.

"No country, organisation or individual should underestimate the strong determination, firm will and powerful capacity of the Chinese government and people to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity," it said.

No one should presume they can "step out of line on the Taiwan issue without having to pay a price", the ministry added.

Lai and his government reject Beijing's sovereignty claims.

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Taiwan's leader calls on China to refrain from threats ahead of expected military drills

Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, right, is greeted by Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr. in Palau, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. 

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te called on China to “open its arms rather than raise its fists” as he wrapped up his first overseas tour since taking office in May.

His remarks at a news conference Friday in Palau, a Pacific Island nation, came in response to widespread speculation that China will hold military drills around Taiwan in response to his trip.

“No matter how many military exercises and warships and aircraft are used to coerce neighboring countries, they will not be able to win the respect of any country,” he said.

The president spoke a day after China’s Foreign Ministry announced sanctions on 13 American companies and six executives in response to recently announced U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan.

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Taiwan and China split in 1949 during a civil war that saw the victorious communists take control in Beijing and the Nationalists set up a rival government in Taiwan, an island of 23 million people off China's east coast. China's long-ruling Communist Party says that Taiwan is part of China and must come under its control at some point.

Lai's trip to the Pacific, which included U.S. stops in Hawaii and Guam, took him into the heart of a maritime region where China is jockeying with the United States and its allies for influence and control. He also visited the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, three of the 12 countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The rest of the world, including the U.S., has official ties with China.

The Taiwanese leader, who spoke by phone with U.S. congressional leaders while in Guam, dismissed concern that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may be less committed to Taiwan’s cause than current President Joe Biden has been.

“Taiwan is confident that it will continue to deepen cooperation with the new government, resist authoritarian expansion, create prosperity and development for both countries, and contribute more to regional stability and peace,” he said.

Lai’s two stops in U.S. territory angered China, which opposes U.S. arms sales and military assistance to Taiwan. Washington is the main supplier of weapons for Taiwan’s defense.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, speaking at a daily briefing in Beijing, accused Taiwan and the U.S. of engaging in official exchanges in Hawaii and Guam and said the U.S. stops provided a platform for Taiwanese independence and separatist activities.

“Lai Ching-te and the DPP authorities have been engaging in Taiwan independence activities under various guises,” Lin said, referring to Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party. “But no matter what they say or do, they will never change the fact that Taiwan is part of China, nor will they stop the overwhelming trend that China will and must be reunited. To seek independence by soliciting foreign support is doomed to failure.”

Lai played up the distinction between authoritarian governments and democracies such as Taiwan and the U.S., noting Russia's military cooperation with both China and North Korea, including the dispatch of North Korean troops to Russia for the war against Ukraine.

“As I have often said before, when authoritarian countries gather together, democratic countries must unite to ensure global and regional stability and development,” he said.

Lai also said that China must stop using threats and inducements to try to persuade other countries to switch diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China, after Paraguay kicked out a visiting Chinese diplomat this week. The envoy had skipped a session at a U.N. meeting and instead went to Paraguay’s Congress building to urge lawmakers to break off relations with Taiwan.

Lin, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, called Paraguay's accusations unreasonable and unfounded. “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory,” he said. “Reaffirming and adhering to the one-China principle is legitimate and above board anywhere in the world."

Taiwan's small number of diplomatic allies has dwindled further in recent years as Beijing has successfully wooed several to establish ties with China.

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Taiwan's Lai says 'confident' of deeper cooperation with Trump

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said Friday he was "confident" of deeper cooperation with the next Donald Trump administration, a day after his call with US Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson that angered China.

Like other world governments, Taiwan has publicly congratulated Trump on his victory in November's presidential election as it seeks to get onside with the next US leader.

The United States does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but Washington has long been Taipei's biggest backer and provider of arms.

Trump caused jitters during his campaign by suggesting Taiwan should pay the United States for its defence and accusing the island of stealing the US semiconductor industry.

"Taiwan is confident that it will continue to deepen cooperation with the new government to resist authoritarian expansion, and create prosperity and development for both countries while making more contributions to regional stability and peace," Lai told reporters in Palau.

Lai arrived in the tiny Pacific island nation on Thursday after visiting the American territory of Guam where he had a call with Johnson -- the highest-level US contact the Taiwanese leader had during his week-long trip.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and opposes any international recognition of the island. Beijing especially bristles at high-level official contact between Taipei and Washington.

A 2022 visit to Taiwan by then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi prompted China to launch military drills around the self-ruled island.

China's foreign ministry on Friday warned Taiwan that "seeking independence with the help of the United States will inevitably hit a wall", and called on Washington to "cease meddling in Taiwan-related affairs".

In response to a question about possible Chinese military drills around Taiwan this weekend, Lai said "raising your fists is not as good as opening your hands".

Lai also insisted that Taiwan and China were "not subordinate to each other".

"No matter how many military exercises, warships and aircraft China sends to coerce neighbouring countries, it cannot win the respect of any country," Lai said.

- 'Rock solid' relations -

Lai's tour -- his first overseas trip since taking office in May -- was aimed at fortifying ties in the Pacific where China has been poaching its allies.

Palau is among 12 nations that still recognise Taiwan, after China convinced others to sever diplomatic relations with Taipei in favour of Beijing.

Earlier, Lai and his Palau counterpart Surangel Whipps Jr watched a joint rescue exercise involving Taiwan's largest coast guard patrol ship and two vessels donated by Taiwan to Palau.

Before that, Lai attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new "one-stop" government services building in Palau that Taiwan helped fund.

Lai hailed the building project "a model of successful bilateral cooperation" and said the Taiwan-Palau alliance was "rock solid".

- 'No winners from conflict' -

The dispute between Taiwan and China goes back to 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek's nationalist forces were defeated by Mao Zedong's communist fighters and fled to the island.

While Taiwan regards itself as a sovereign nation -- with its own government, military, and currency -- Beijing insists the island belongs to China and has not ruled out the use of force to bring it under its control.

Taiwan faces the constant threat of a military attack by China, which regularly deploys fighter jets and warships around the island to press its claims, and it relies heavily on US arms sales to boost its defences.

On the eve of Lai's Pacific tour, the United States approved a proposed sale to Taiwan of spare parts for F-16s and radar systems, as well as communications equipment, in deals valued at $385 million in total.

Speaking during a two-day visit to the US state of Hawaii on Saturday, Lai said there was a need to "fight together to prevent war", warning there were "no winners" from conflict.

Lai arrived in Taipei on Friday, wrapping up a trip that also included visits to Taiwan's other Pacific island allies the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu.

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