China, which views Lai as a separatist, held major military exercises around Taiwan following his inauguration in May and his National Day speech in October. It also held a major drill after Nancy Pelosi, then the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, visited Taiwan in 2022.

China has expanded military drills around Taiwan with dozens of warplanes and a huge maritime exercise aimed at drawing "a red line" for the next US president, Taipei authorities said Wednesday.The security official said Wednesday that China's plans for the massive maritime operation began in October,