China flew bombers and fighter jets around Taiwan on Thursday, officials said, in a new show of force that the defence ministry said was directed at "independence forces" on the self-ruled island.

H-6K bombers, early warning aircraft, reconnaissance planes and several types of fighter jets took off from multiple airports for "combat drills", the air force said in a statement on its official microblog.

The planes flew over Bashi Strait, south of Taiwan and the Miyako Strait, near Japan's Okinawa Island, it said.

The air force said its H-6K bombers have completed several drills that involved circling Taiwan since April 18 "to strengthen its capacity to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity".

"The series of operations we are carrying out is directed against Taiwan independence forces and activities in the island," defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian told a monthly press conference.

"Their purpose is to prevent that the Taiwan independence forces' plot damages the welfare of the Taiwanese people. If the independence forces continue to wantonly take rash actions, we will take further actions," Wu said.

China sees the democratically-governed island -- which has never formally declared independence from the mainland -- as a renegade part of its territory to be brought back into the fold, and has not ruled out reunification by force.

Taipei has accused Beijing of "sabre rattling" and trying to stoke regional tensions with its recent drills.

Taiwan announced on Tuesday that it will practise thwarting a Chinese "invasion" in annual live fire drills in June by simulating surprise coastal assaults.

Chinese H-6K bombers and spy planes had previously flown around Taiwan last week.

Chinese combat helicopters conducted live-fire drills with missiles off southeast China on April 18, state media said last week without confirming whether the exercises took place in the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

Beijing has stepped up military patrols around Taiwan and used diplomatic pressure to isolate it internationally since President Tsai Ing-wen, of the traditionally pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, took office in 2016.

Beijing's sole aircraft carrier and two destroyers crossed waters south of Taiwan Saturday and carried out "offensive and defensive" drills in the Pacific, China's navy said.

Taiwan court upholds jail term for Chinese student spy
Taipei (AFP) April 26, 2018 - Taiwan's high court Thursday upheld the conviction of a former Chinese student on charges of recruiting spies for Beijing, saying his actions had posed serious threats to the island.

The decision comes as cross-strait tensions rise, with China accusing Taiwan of moves towards formal independence.

The self-ruling democratic island has never formally declared a split from the mainland and Beijing still sees it as a renegade province to be brought back into the fold, by force if necessary.

Zhou Hongxu, 31, who graduated from a top Taiwanese university in 2016, will serve out the 14-month jail term handed down by a lower court after his appeal was rejected.

"The defendant's actions posed serious threats to our territory and national security, given the disharmony and even hostile situation between the two sides," said high court spokesman Chiou Jong-yi.

The court had shown leniency in sentencing since Zhou had confessed and his attempt to recruit spies had been unsuccessful, he added.

Taiwan and China have spied on each other since 1949 when nationalist troops fled to the island and set up a separate government after losing a civil war on the mainland to communist forces.

Taiwan's National Security Bureau chief Peng Sheng-chu has said that Chinese espionage is "more serious than before". Local media report up to 5,000 people may be spying for China on the island.

Zhou was instructed by officials in Shanghai in late 2015 to recruit "Taiwanese government personnel and other people of influence" while he was studying and working in Taiwan, according to Thursday's ruling.

Zhou had attempted to recruit a man working in the Taiwanese government from August 2016, promising payment of at least $10,000 per quarter before the man turned him in to local authorities.

China last week staged live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait -- the narrow waterway separating the Chinese mainland from Taiwan -- following weeks of naval manoeuvres in the area.

Chinese officials said the drills were to safeguard Beijing's territorial sovereignty and issued a fresh warning Wednesday that they would take further actions if "Taiwan's independence forces were to continue their reckless course".

Taipei accused China of being "extremely irresponsible" and said it was threatening peace in the region.

Beijing is deeply suspicious of President Tsai Ing-wen's traditionally pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party and has cut off official communication with Taipei since she came to power in 2016 as she refuses to accept that the island is part of "one China".

Chinese officials have also railed against Premier William Lai in recent weeks who has repeatedly declared his personal support for Taiwan's independence.

Related Links
Taiwan News at SinoDaily.com

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Taiwan to stage live-fire drill simulating China "invasion"
Taipei (AFP) April 24, 2018
Taiwan will practice thwarting a Chinese "invasion" in annual live fire drills in June, simulating surprise coastal assaults to reflect increased military threats from Beijing, officials said Tuesday. China's growing military is increasingly flexing its muscles and held live-fire drills last week in the Taiwan Strait - the narrow waterway separating the Chinese mainland from Taiwan - following weeks of naval manoeuvres in the area. Chinese officials said their drills were to safeguard Beijing' ... read more