Taiwan’s defence chief has warned that a Chinese blockade would be an act of war and have far-reaching consequences for international trade after Beijing held military exercises to encircle the self-governed island.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — China held live-fire drills off the coast of its southern Fujian province facing Taiwan, just a week after a massive air-and-sea drill it described as punishment for Taiwan’s president rejecting Beijing’s claims of sovereignty.

Beijing accuses Lai and his Democratic Progressive Party of pursuing independence for Taiwan—but it takes very little nowadays to provoke China into imposing another round of exercises around the island it claims as part of its territory.

China employed a record 125 aircraft, as well as its Liaoning aircraft carrier and ships, in large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan and its outlying islands Monday, simulating the sealing off of key ports in a move that underscores the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait,

China’s growing military capabilities make a blockade of Taiwan increasingly feasible. With its powerful anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) systems, control over the South China Sea, and the world’s largest navy,