China has warned it will “crush” any foreign attempts to interfere on behalf of Taiwan, after Japan announced plans to deploy missiles near the independent island. Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has said her country would regard an attack on Taiwan as an “existential threat” to security in the region and would likely intervene.

The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops killed.

Zack Cooper, one of the report's authors, said a full-scale conflict would begin with amphibious landings by Chinese forces, accompanied by strikes on Taiwan's military as well as US forces based in Japan and Guam.

Beijing's largest drills in years simulate a blockade of Taiwan, testing US resolve and regional security as political tensions and arms deals escalate.

The Chinese amphibious assault ship CNS Hainan took part in a war game near Taiwan to simulate the seizure of the island's ports.

A US naval expert has warned China is preparing for a massive blockade of Taiwan and a possible full-scale invasion of the island.

Taiwan’s military has been jolted by a night training mission gone wrong at a critical moment of rising China tensions. An F-16 fighter jet and its pilot vanished off Taiwan’s east coast, forcing Taipei to halt all F-16 training flights.

In recent days, the United States has increased its military aviation presence in the Caribbean, with multiple AV-8B Harrier II jets operating close to Venezuela. Flying from the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima,