China has demanded that Taiwan compensate Chinese fishermen for losses after a Taiwanese navy landing ship and a Chinese fishing boat collided outside restricted waters last week.

The barges, which link up to form a bridge, could give China a way to land large numbers of vehicles and troops on Taiwan, solving a major logistical problem.

China's launches drills around Taiwan to "severely punish" the island's pro-independence leader, as the U.S. boosts its war footing in Japan to deter Chinese "aggression."

China launched its latest round of war games around Taiwan on Tuesday, saying on Wednesday they were code-named "Strait Thunder-2025" and were a "stern warning" against separatism.

China's military conducted a live-fire exercise in the Taiwan Strait to simulate strikes on key ports and energy facilities, it said on Wednesday. The exercise, codenamed "Strait Thunder", is an escalation of military drills China held on Tuesday around Taiwan, the democratic island Beijing claims as its territory.

The Chinese military said the drills are a "severe warning and forceful containment against Taiwan independence."

China staged military drills off Taiwan’s north, south and east coasts on Tuesday as a “stern warning” against separatism and called Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te a

The drills came after Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, announced measures to counter China’s influence and espionage. Beijing also wants to send a message to Washington, analysts said.