Taiwan wants Foxconn to drop stake in Chinese chipmaker amid military drills by Beijing

The statement by China said Beijing seeks peaceful "unification" with Taiwan but does not pledge to relinquish the use of military force and retains all necessary options.

Meanwhile, about 20 Chinese navy and Taiwan navy ships continued to stay close to the median line of the Taiwan Strait as of Wednesday morning, Reuters quoted sources as saying.

China has been conducting military drills around Taiwan for almost a week now. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) initially announced the military drills in Taiwan Strait involving all arms of its military from August 4-7 but continued beyond the schedule with no end in sight.

China conducted "precision missile strikes" Thursday in waters off Taiwan's coasts (Image: AP/PTI)

Taiwan claimed China launched missiles and carried out incursions into Taiwanese waters and airspace. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense was quoted as saying on Tuesday, "China deployed 45 warplanes and 10 warships into areas around Taiwan... with 16 of the 45 aircraft crossing the Taiwan Strait median line".

China's actions disrupted flights and shipping in a region crucial to global supply chains, prompting strong condemnation from the US, Japan and others.

Taiwan minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu said, "China’s decision to carry out military exercises in areas surrounding Taiwan is a gross violation of Taiwan’s rights..., it has hindered the normal operations of one of the busiest air and shipping routes in the Indo-Pacific region."

Meanwhile, this week, Taiwan conducted its own military drills to counter China's unprecedented war games. Launching its military live-fire drills, Taiwan accused Beijing of using US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei last week to prepare for the invasion of the self-ruled island.

Taiwan military forces conducted anti-landing drills during the annual Han Kuang military exercises near New Taipei City in Taiwan on July 27, 2022. (Image: AP/PTI)

China claims Taiwan as part of the mainland under its One-China policy. "China has used the drills in its military play-book to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan," said the Taiwanese minister in a statement on Tuesday. It is believed that "China has used Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan as a pretext, but is pursuing its true intentions in several ways".