China's drill in waters near Taiwan in December are seen as a test run for a blockade and a message to the United States.

China fired rockets into waters off Taiwan, showcased assault ships and dismissed prospects of an intervention to block future attacks by Beijing.

China’s decision to bring serious firepower to bear for military drills in the waters off Taiwan this week has deep roots both in the past several weeks and the past several decades.

The drills were an attempt to divert attention away from Beijing's economic troubles, Taiwan's top security agency said.

Chinese war games​ around Taiwan "unnecessarily" spiked tensions in the region, the U.S. State Department said, calling on Beijing to "cease its military pressure."

China-Taiwan tensions reach new heights as Beijing conducts largest military drills, responding to massive $11 billion U.S. arms package for Taipei.

Taiwanese prosecutors said on Monday they had filed additional indictments against the Taiwanese unit of Japan's Tokyo Electron and ​three defendants in a case over the alleged theft of trade secrets from ‌chipmaker TSMC.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Thursday vowed to defend the self-ruled island’s sovereignty in the face of what he termed China’s “expansionist ambitions,” days after Beijing wrapped up live-fire