Taiwan’s imports of liquefied natural gas could be vulnerable if China someday imposed a blockade, the archipelago’s defense chief said — highlighting the concern Beijing’s military activity is raising in Taipei.

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.

China deployed planes and ships to encircle Taiwan on Monday, in drills Beijing said were aimed at sending a "stern warning" to "separatist" forces on the self-ruled island.Beijing has not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control and Monday's drills represent its fourth round of large-scale war games in the past two years.

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,