Beijing To Hold Live-fire Drill In Taiwan Strait

China on Thursday announced live-firing military exercises in the Taiwan Strait amid heightened tensions over increased American support for Taiwan's democratic government.

The announcement by the maritime safety authority in the coastal province of Fujian coincided with a statement from their counterparts in Hainan province that the navy was ending a three-day exercise in the South China Sea one day early.

No explanations were given in either case and the Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to questions.

Beijing officials have denounced the recent passage of a US law encouraging more high-level contacts with Taiwan.

An agreement to pass Taiwan submarine manufacturing technology and the appointment of hawkish National Security Adviser John Bolton have also hardened views among anti-American nationalists in China.

Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office on Wednesday warned against additional moves to strengthen relations with Taiwan.

"Any attempt to play the 'Taiwan card' would only be futile," spokesman Ma Xiaoguang said. China, Ma said, would "not hesitate to protect our core interests".

The just-completed naval drills off Hainan underscored China's growing capabilities in defending its maritime interests and territorial claims, particularly in the disputed South China Sea.

Those exercises follow recent ones in the strategic waterway that featured the aircraft carrier Liaoning, amid deployments and drills by the rival US Navy.

China's Maritime Safety Administration said the exercises began on Wednesday and were to have lasted through the end of Friday. (AFP)