Ayeshea Perera
Live Editor

Image source, Getty Images

Thank you for joining our live coverage on China's military drills around Taiwan - an exercise Beijing said was meant to "punish" the island for its "separatist acts". The drills will coninue on Friday, according to Chinese state media.

After announcing the drills, Beijing has singled out Taiwan's president William Lai who was only sworn in three days ago, attacking the speech he made on that day and stressing that Taiwan is an "inalienable" part of China's territory.

Here is what you need to know:

• The drills launched on Thursday are simulating a full-scale attack, rather than an economic blockade, as they did during the previous round of major military exercises in 2022 - this is the first time China has done this
• They also mark the first time that China has mentioned outlying islands that are close to its coast as targets
• Taiwan's defence ministry has called the drills an "irrational provocation" and its foreign ministry has told China to "be rational"
• The drills underscore the root of China-Taiwan tensions - Beijing sees the island as a breakaway province while the Taiwanese see themselves as separate
• Taiwan's presidential office has reassured people by saying they have a "comprehensive grasp of the situation"
• Analysts say the drills are a warning to not only Lai, but also to Taiwan's allies

Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
in Taipei

On 2 August 2022 Taiwan television channels began live tracking a US government jet heading north across the South China Sea on course for Taiwan. On board was then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Thousands turned out to watch her plane touch down at Taipei’s old Songshan airport. The following day at the presidential office, she was presented with one of Taiwan’s highest state honors.

To a place so starved of international recognition there was much to celebrate. Not since 1996 had such a high-profile serving US politician touched Taiwan soil.

But there would be a price. China kicked off its biggest-ever military exercises in the seas around Taiwan following her visit.

Days after her plane departed Song Shan air-base, Japan reported it was tracking multiple Chinese missiles heading towards the island.

Taiwan's defence ministry was strangely silent. Only later did it admit that for the first time ever China had fired ballistic missiles over the top of the island, into the Pacific Ocean.

The drills have so far been confined within the "contiguous zone" about 24 miles from the Taiwanese shore, Taiwan's Defence Ministry said.

Ministry officials said it has not observed China use live ammunition in the drills thus far

Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
in Taipei

The median line - an unoffcial border between China and Taiwan - is about 50 nautical miles out from both sides' shores.

This has no standing in international law, rather it is observed by mutual agreement to prevent unwanted conflict. This is the line China has repeatedly crossed, inlcuding today.

But there is another line closer to the Taiwanese shore - about 24 miles from it - called the contiguous zone. This also includes the 12 nautical miles that are considered to be Taiwan's territorial waters.

China has never entered Taiwan's contiguous zone in any of the drills - so far.

That would be seen as a major escalation. It also suggests that despite the aggressive rhetoric, Beijing is still being cautious.

Benny Lu
BBC Chinese

China’s latest drills are not a surprise and meant to send a clear message to Taiwan’s allies, analysts say.

“Part of the drills are set in the southeast waters of Taiwan, near the newly established military bases in the Philippines and the US. It is clearly sending warnings to the two countries,” said William Chung of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, the official think tank of Taiwan’s national defence ministry.

Small-scale military attacks on outlying islands – which are covered during the current exercise – cannot be ruled out as Beijing could increase the intensity of its military intimidation, he added.

It is also clear that China will not let President William Lai “enjoy an easy time” as the military drills are conducted during the same time that protests have broken out over changes to the island’s legislature.

According to Taiwan's count, China has dispatched 15 warships and 16 naval police vessels into the waters surrounding the island since Chinese military drills started at 07:40 local time this morning.

Taiwan's Ministry of Defence says it also spotted 42 military aircraft participating in the war games.

Image source, Taiwan's Ministry of Defence

Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
in Taipei

The east coast of Taiwan has long been the island's military redoubt.

It lies on the far side of a very high mountain range which rises close to 4,000 meters above sea level.

This coast is rugged with few areas suitable as landing beaches. Because of this Taiwan has built much of its hardened military infrastructure along this coast, including a large underground airbase inside a mountain near the city of Hualien.

It is also close to Japan’s southern islands, and a natural resupply route.

For many decades China did not possess the ability to attack Taiwan from the east, or to close the air and sea space on that side of the island. However, since 2022 China has sought to demonstrate that it can now do both.

In August 2022, for the very first time, it fired a ballistic missile over the top of Taiwan in to the Pacific Ocean.

Since then it has repeatedly sent naval and air patrols to the east. Today it is doing the same, only on a larger scale.

The aim is to show Taiwan that its eastern redoubt is now exposed to Chinese attack, and to show the Americans that any effort to resupply or re-enforce Taiwan from the east is vulnerable to Chinese missile strikes and naval attack.

Taiwan's defence ministry is about to hold a press conference on the drills. We will bring you updates as we get them.

Here's more from the Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council's - which oversees relations with China - press conference.

Taiwan President William Lai's team will continue to govern according to the principles laid down by former president Tsai Ing-wen, said Liang Wen-chieh, the council spokesman.

Asked about Mr Lai's inauguration speech which had sparked sharp condemnation from Beijing, Liang said: "Every president expresses themselves differently."

"I have to stress that Taiwan's aim in maintaining cross-strait peace has not changed. We will continue to promote cross-strait exchanges. We will also continue to defend Taiwan's freedom and democracy," he said.

Image source, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council

China’s claims over Taiwan are not new - they have existed for many decades.

While they remain trading partners, they don’t have a formal channel of communication any more and much of the world offers diplomatic recognition to China, but not Taiwan.

Analysts say Bejing’s claims have become far louder and unyielding under Xi Jinping, who has repeatedly stressed that “reunifiction” will happen - even as recenly as December, just weeks before Taiwan’s election.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council - the body that deals with China - just held a press conference calling on China to stop the drills.

"Taiwan strongly protests the drills. We ask for China to stop its irrational military provocations," a spokesman Liang Wen-chieh, told reporters.

According to the council's surveys, more than 92% of Taiwanese disapprove of the Chinese military's actions in waters surrounding the island, he added.

"Peace along the Taiwan Strait is an issue of global concern. There is strong international attention on cross-strait developments," Liang added.

"Beijing should understand that its intimidating tactics will not win hearts and minds. It will only enhance tensions between both sides and increase regional volatility," he said.

China's foreign ministry has said the drills it is carrying out in Taiwan are a "necessary and legitimate move" to safeguard national sovereignty, adding that they are "fully consistent with international law and common practices".

They also send a warning against external interference, said Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the ministry.

"I need to stress that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. This is both a fact based on history and the true status quo. This will not change in the future. Taiwan independence is doomed to fail," Wang said.

"Each time Taiwan's separatist forces make waves, China and the international community will step up our efforts to safeguard the One China principle," he said.

The One China policy is the diplomatic acknowledgement of China's position that there is only one Chinese government.

China views Taiwan's new president William Lai as a "dangerous seperatist".

While the drills are dominating China's tightly-controlled social media, it's not quite the same in Taiwan.

So far the top Google trend in Taiwan today is a Japanese actor who is rumoured to be having an affair.

Gen Hoshino is married to a famous Japanese actress, Yui Aragaki, who is very popular in Taiwan. Both Hoshino and Aragaki have denied the rumours.

For the past few hours, this piece of celebrity gossip has been soaking up all the attention. But news of the military exercises is catching up - even as some Taiwanese say it is a reality they have grown used to.

Image source, Getty Images

Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
in Taipei

Chinese state media is describing these military drills as a response to Monday’s inaugural speech by Taiwan’s new President William Lai. It is condemning him in very strident terms.

In his speech, Lai called on China to stop threatening Taiwan and called for peace across the strait.

China Central Television described Mr Lai’s speech as a “complete confession of Taiwan independence” and that it was “extremely harmful” to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi called his speech a ”complete disgrace”.

However, retired military officers say such large-scale military drills will have been planned well in advance of Monday’s inauguration. Military exercises on this scale take months to prepare.

Nor has this response come as a surprise to Taiwan’s new government. Unnamed sources say the scenario being played out is one they have prepared for.

Here's a quick recap of what divides Beijing and Taipei:

• Why do China and Taiwan have poor relations? China sees the self-ruled island as a part of its territory and insists it should be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Taiwan sees itself as distinct

• How is Taiwan governed? The island has its own constitution, democratically elected leaders, and about 300,000 active troops in its armed forces

• Who recognises Taiwan? Only a few countries recognise Taiwan. Most recognise the Chinese government in Beijing instead. The US has no official ties with Taiwan but does have a law which requires it to provide the island with the means to defend itself

We have heard from Tokyo, where Japan's chief government spokesman has expressed concern about the drills.

Japan "will continue to communicate directly and clearly to China the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait", said Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi.

Hayashi said Japan "will continue to closely watch developments of the relations across the Taiwan Strait".

When we compare a map of today's drills to a map of the 2022 drills, following then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit, we see that both sets of exercises involve encircling the island.

One main difference, as we reported earlier, is Taiwan’s outlying islands close to the Chinese coast have been included as targets.

Taiwanese military planes take off and land as China conducts military drills around the island.

We have been reporting that China has portrayed the drills as a move to "punish" Taiwan's "separatist acts", singling out President William Lai.

On its official WeChat account on Thursday, broadcaster CCTV wrote that Lai "will certainly be nailed to the pillar of shame in history".

It said Taiwan sees Lai as the "golden grandson of Taiwan independence" and called him "the biggest hidden danger" that could ignite a cross-strait conflict.

Global Times quoted a research fellow at the state-run Academy of Military Sciences saying the drills are "designed to serve as strong deterrence and warning".

Since Lai was sworn in on Monday, Global Times has cast him as an "ignorant" and "reckless" leader.

In an editorial on Wednesday, it said Lai's inauguration speech "was filled with hostility and provocation, lies and deception".

China has launched two days of military drills around Taiwan as "strong punishment" for what it calls the island's "separatist acts". This is the latest:

• The drills come three days after the inauguration of Taiwan's President William Lai, who Beijing has long seen as a "dangerous troublemaker"
• For the first time, Beijing is simulating a full-scale attack, rather than an economic blockade as it did during the previous round of major military exercises in 2022
• This is also the first time that China has mentioned as targets outlying islands that are close to its coast

• The drills underscore the root of China-Taiwan tensions - Beijing sees the island as a breakaway province while the Taiwanese see themselves as separate
• Taiwan's defence ministry has called the drills an "irrational provocation" while its foreign ministry has told China to "be rational"
• China has routinely flown jets into Taiwanese airspace and sailed ships into its waters in the last few years, setting a new normal in the 100-mile strait between them

Image source, Reuters