Taipei’s leaders “under the banner of protecting Taiwan, are harming and destroying Taiwan, and coercing the people to be cannon fodder”, Beijing’s defence ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang told a regular news conference.

Taiwan this month held the 10-day “Han Kuang” military drills.

Rather than only repelling a Chinese attack on its shores, Taiwanese troops this year also practised fighting invading forces in city streets.

Beijing’s military today fumed over the exercise, describing them as “merely a show”.

“They cannot change the inevitable demise of Taiwan independence,” Zhang said, accusing Taipei’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of hatching an “evil plot”.

“We sternly warn the DPP authorities that unjust deeds will bring destruction, no matter what efforts they try, it will all be in vain,” he added.

Meanwhile, Taipei said today it had detected 33 sorties of Chinese “main and auxiliary warplanes”, 23 of which entered its airspace.

“Coordinating with naval vessels under the so-called ‘joint combat readiness patrol,’ they have harassed our surrounding air and sea areas,” the island’s defence ministry said.

Communist China has never ruled Taiwan but Beijing insists the island is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.

Taiwan is keen to show the world, especially its key security backer Washington, that it is serious about boosting its defence capability.

But this week reports emerged that US President Donald Trump’s administration had denied permission for Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te to transit in New York as part of an official trip to Latin America next month.

Taipei’s foreign ministry in response said Lai had not been blocked from visiting the US and that he had no plans to travel overseas “in the near future”.