China's defence ministry on Friday broke its silence about days of military activities around Taiwan, saying it was entitled to stage exercises and the military would "not be absent" if required to fight separatist forces.

China’s military is keeping silent on its large deployment of naval and coast guard ships off Taiwan this week.

Chinese military drills took place around Taiwan earlier this week, with Chinese authorities announcing seven reserved areas of airspace on December 9, to last until December 11. What followed was what some have termed the largest deployment of Chinese naval vessels around Taiwan since 1996.