Taipei (AFP) - China launched missiles and deployed dozens of fighter aircraft and navy vessels around Taiwan on Tuesday for a second day of live-fire drills aimed at simulating a blockade of the self-ruled island’s key ports and assaults on maritime targets.

Taipei, which slammed the two-day war games as “highly provocative and reckless”, said the manoeuvre failed to impose a blockade on the island.

China claims Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and has refused to rule out military action to seize the island democracy.

AFP journalists in Pingtan – a Chinese island at the closest point to Taiwan’s main island – saw a volley of rockets blast into the air at around 9:00 am (0100 GMT) on Tuesday, leaving trails of white smoke.

At least 10 were launched in quick succession, sending a booming sound reverberating across the sky and drawing tourists towards the seafront to snap photos and videos on their phones.

Taiwanese authorities counted 27 rockets fired by Chinese forces on Tuesday.

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said in a statement that it had “conducted long-range live fire drills in the waters to the north of the Taiwan Island and achieved desired effects”.

The show of force follows a bumper round of arms sales to Taipei by the United States, Taiwan’s main security backer, and comments from Japan’s prime minister that the use of force against Taiwan could warrant a military response from Tokyo.

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said on Tuesday that Beijing would “forcefully counter” large-scale US weapons sales to Taiwan, adding that any attempt to obstruct China’s unification with the island “will inevitably end in failure”.

Foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian called the drills a “punitive response to Taiwan independence separatist forces and a necessary action to defend national sovereignty”.

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te expressed his “strongest condemnation” and said Beijing was “deliberately undermining regional stability through military intimidation”.

“This is a blatant provocation,” he wrote on Facebook, adding that Taipei would not escalate the situation.

- ‘Live-fire training’ -

China said on Tuesday it had deployed destroyers, frigates, fighters and bombers “to conduct drills on subjects of identification and verification, warning and expulsion, simulated strikes, assault on maritime targets, as well as anti-air and anti-submarine operations”.

A statement from the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command said the exercises in the waters to the north and south of Taiwan “tested capabilities of sea-air coordination and integrated blockade and control”.

State broadcaster CCTV reported that a core theme of the exercises was a “blockade” of key Taiwanese ports, including Keelung in the north and Kaohsiung in the south.

However, senior Taiwanese military official Hsieh Jih-sheng told reporters that the intended blockade “essentially did not happen”.

“The main reason they did this was to make the public believe that they had achieved the goal they were pursuing,” he said.

Chinese authorities published a map of five large zones around Taiwan where the war games would take place. They were due to finish at 6:00 pm (1000 GMT) on Tuesday, although there was not yet any confirmation they had ended.

Taiwan said the zones, some of which are within 12 nautical miles of its coast, had affected international shipping and aviation routes.

Hundreds of flights were either cancelled or delayed, according to the island’s Civil Aviation Administration.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said on Tuesday it had detected at least 130 Chinese military aircraft near the island, as well as more than 50 vessels including 27 navy ships, over the course of the drill.

The Taiwanese coastguard said it deployed 14 ships to monitor the naval activity, “employing a one-on-one shadowing approach to forcefully deter the vessels”.

- Stoic reaction -

Taiwan’s Military News Agency said forces conducted several drills in response to the Chinese exercise, including one in the Taipei area focusing on the deployment of river obstacles and rapid troop response.

Many ordinary Taiwanese reacted stoically.

“There have been so many drills like this over the years that we are used to it,” said fishmonger Chiang Sheng-ming, 24, at a market in Taipei.

“If you stand your ground, there’s nothing to be afraid of,” added fruitseller Tseng Chang-chih, 80.

“War? Impossible. It’s just posturing. If they really attacked Taiwan, they would have to pay a price.”

China’s military last held large-scale drills involving live firing around Taiwan in April.

Beijing said this month it would take “resolute and forceful measures” to safeguard its territory after Taiwan said the United States had approved an $11 billion arms sale.

US President Donald Trump said he was not concerned about the drills, appearing to brush aside the possibility of counterpart Xi Jinping ordering an invasion of Taiwan.

“I don’t believe he’s going to be doing it,” Trump said.

On Tuesday, the European Union slammed China over the drills, saying the exercise “endangers international peace and stability”, and urging restraint from actions that could escalate tensions.

burs-je/mjw/aha/dw