The remarks come amid the two countries’ worst diplomatic crisis in years, after the Japanese prime minister said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai said on Tuesday that a "return" to China is not an option for the island's 23 million people, after Chinese President Xi Jinping pressed his country's sovereignty claims in a call with U.

President Trump spoke with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week, and the Chinese government said Xi outlined what it called China’s "principled" position on Taiwan. The self-governing democracy of 23 million has never been part of Communist China,

Taiwan will introduce a $40-billion supplementary defence budget to underscore its determination to defend itself in the face of a rising threat from China, President Lai Ching-te said on Wednesday. China,

China may conquer Taiwan through energy blockade and gray-zone tactics rather than military invasion, new defense study reveals. Beijing's strategy targets fuel imports.

That role also means a war over Taiwan could be "cataclysmic," the report warned, potentially "wiping out as much as 10 percent of global GDP"—an unprecedented economic hit in modern times. The authors said the ramifications of such a scenario could be "on par with the 2008 Global Financial Crisis."

China on Friday urged Japan to confront its colonial rule over Taiwan and withdraw recent comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that Beijing says interfere in its internal affairs.

Chinese ships and aircraft monitored the Aotearoa, with Chinese jets carrying out simulated attacks. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.