Tsai Ing-wen Says Taiwan Is Secure Ahead Of Drills

Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen reassured residents on Tuesday that the island was secure, a day before the mainland is set to hold live-fire drills in the narrow strait that separates the two.

Tsai spoke to reporters as she left for Swaziland, one of Taiwan's few remaining international allies that has not been wooed away by Beijing as cross-strait relations deteriorate.

Mainland officials have suggested Wednesday's military exercise is a warning to pro-independence advocates in Taiwan as Beijing steps up its rhetoric against any challenges to its sovereignty.

Tsai said that she had told national security officials to closely monitor the "surrounding situation".

"Please rest assured that we have the confidence and determination to safeguard the country's security," she said at Taoyuan International Airport.

Tsai added that maintaining a peaceful "status quo" across the strait was her government's mission.

Beijing has stepped up military patrols around the island and used diplomatic pressure to isolate Taiwan internationally since Tsai took office in May 2016, as she refuses to accept both sides are part of "one China".

Observers say Wednesday's planned drills also serve as a signal to Washington, which sent aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt through the disputed South China Sea last week. (AFP)