China launched the exercises in response to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen last week meeting US House speaker Kevin McCarthy, an encounter it had warned would provoke a furious response.
After two days of exercises that included simulating targeted strikes on Taiwan and encirclement of the island, the Chinese military said the wargames also included "sealing" it off.
One of China's two aircraft carriers also "participated in today's exercise," the military said.
The United States, which had repeatedly called for China to show restraint, on Monday sent the guided-missile destroyer the USS Milius through contested parts of the South China Sea.
"This freedom of navigation operation upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea," the US Navy said in a statement
It added the vessel had passed near the Spratly Islands -- an archipelago claimed by China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. It is about 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) from Taiwan.
The deployment of the Milius immediately triggered more anger from China, which said the vessel had "illegally intruded" into its territorial waters.
- 'No war' -
On Beigan island, part of Taiwan's Matsu archipelago that is within eyesight of China's mainland, 60-year-old chef Lin Ke-qiang told AFP he simply did not want war.
"We, common people, just want to live peaceful and stable lives," Lin said, adding Taiwan's military was no match for China's.
"If any war happens, now that their missiles are so advanced, there's no way our side could resist. This side will be levelled to the ground."
China and Taiwan split at the end of a civil war in 1949. China views democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to take it one day.
The United States has been deliberately ambiguous on whether it would defend Taiwan militarily.
But for decades it has sold weapons to Taipei to help ensure its self-defence, and offered political support.
Tsai met McCarthy outside Los Angeles on her way home from a visit with two allied countries in Central America.
In August last year, China deployed warships, missiles and fighter jets around Taiwan in its largest show of force in years following a trip to the island by McCarthy's predecessor, Nancy Pelosi.
Tsai met with McCarthy last week in the United States, rather than in Taiwan.
This was viewed as a compromise that would underscore support for Taiwan but avoid inflaming tensions with Beijing.
But China had repeatedly warned against any meeting, and began the latest wargames soon after Tsai returned to Taiwan.
"These operations serve as a stern warning against the collusion between separatist forces seeking 'Taiwan independence' and external forces and against their provocative activities," said Shi Yin, a PLA spokesman, said about "Joint Sword".
Tsai responded to the drills by pledging to work with "the US and other like-minded countries" in the face of "continued authoritarian expansionism".
- Live-fire exercises -
Exercises on Monday were set to include live-fire drills off the rocky coast of China's Fujian province, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of the Matsu islands and 190 kilometres from Taipei.
The local maritime authority said the exercises would be held between 7:00 am and 8:00 pm around Pingtan, a southeastern island that is China's nearest point to Taiwan.
AFP journalists on Pingtan did not see any immediate military activity in an offshore area on Monday.
A video published Monday to the Eastern Theatre Command's official WeChat account showed a pilot saying he had "arrived near the northern part of Taiwan Island", with missiles "locked into place".
In another video with dramatic orchestral accompaniment, the pierce of an officer's whistle sends military personnel running into position as a simulated barrage on Taiwan unfolds on screen.
China's military hardware for its drills around Taiwan
Beijing (AFP) April 10, 2023 -
China is brandishing a wide array of military equipment and weapons as it conducts drills around Taiwan intended to intimidate the self-ruled island.
The three-day show of force, which began on Saturday, comes after a visit by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to the United States sparked China's ire.
Here is a rundown of Beijing's arsenal:
- Aircraft -
China has deployed dozens of planes in the airspace around Taiwan over the three days, including J-16 and J-10C fighter jets.
The state-of-the-art J-16s, built by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, are capable of carrying both close- and long-range missiles, according to the state-run Global Times.
Previously, J-16s have been used for incursion flights into Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ). Experts have said it is among China's preferred jets for testing the island's air defences.
The ongoing operations around Taiwan have also involved KJ-500 early warning and surveillance aircraft, which provide 360-degree radar coverage, according to defence intelligence company Janes.
State media have also reported the deployment of Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, which have previously been used in patrols over the East China Sea.
- Missiles -
People's Liberation Army land forces have also been roped into what China terms the "Joint Sword" drills, using YJ-12B land-based anti-ship missiles in simulated strikes against Taiwan.
Little information about the YJ-12B is publicly available. It is a land-based version of the YJ-12 missile, which has a range of 460 kilometres and is able to carry both nuclear and conventional warheads, according to the US-based Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.
The DF-11 and DF-15 short-range conventional ballistic missiles have also featured in this week's drills.
Both are decades-old models, with the newer DF-15 capable of "striking Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, and northern India from mainland China", according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Official broadcaster CCTV said on Sunday that China's forces "simulated joint precision strikes" on Taiwan.
- Warships -
China sent destroyers and frigates in Taiwan's direction over the weekend, with the Taiwanese defence ministry on Sunday saying it had detected 11 Chinese warships around the island.
These have included the type 052C destroyer and the Type 054A frigate.
The 054A is designed for anti-air combat and equipped with HQ-16 medium-range surface-air missiles capable of striking aerial targets 50 kilometres away, according to defence industry publication Naval Technology.
And hours before Tsai's meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles last Wednesday, China sent its Shandong aircraft carrier through Taiwan's southeastern waters on its way to the western Pacific.
The Shandong is one of two Chinese aircraft carriers, and the only one to be fully domestically built. It was commissioned into the PLA Navy in December 2019.
Although not officially part of "Joint Sword", Chinese state media said the Shandong's voyage last week showed "the carrier is fully ready for far sea operations and safeguarding China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity".
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