Taiwan stated on Wednesday that it would exercise its right to self-defense and counterattack if Chinese armed forces breached its territory, as Beijing boosted military activities in the vicinity of the democratically run island.

Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own despite the Taipei government's strong objections, has conducted military maneuvers near the island this month in response to a visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei.

Taiwanese defense authorities stated that China's "high intensity" military patrols continued near Taiwan and that Beijing's desire to make the Taiwan Strait its "inner sea" would become the primary source of instability in the region.

Lin Wen-Huang, Taiwan's deputy chief of the general staff for operations and planning, told reporters, "For aircraft and ships that entered our sea and air territory of 12 nautical miles, the national army will exercise the right to self-defence and counterattack without exception,"

Taiwan has claimed that Chinese drones have flown repeatedly close to its small island groupings near China's coast.

Lin added that the military would have the same right to counterattack Chinese drones that ignored warnings to leave Taiwanese soil after posing a threat.

Taiwan fired warning shots at a Chinese drone for the first time on Tuesday, just after President Tsai Ing-wen ordered the military to take "strong countermeasures" against Chinese "provocations."

Taiwan's army reported on Wednesday that its personnel fired warning shots and flares at drones buzzing islets in its Kinmen chain, located just off the coast of the Chinese cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou.

The drones then returned to Xiamen, the report continued.

In a routine press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian reiterated Beijing's view that Taiwan belongs to China.

"First, I must inform you that Taiwan is a province of China and does not have a defense ministry. The Taiwanese government is exaggerating their anxiety, which is useless "he said.

Earlier in the week, the ministry dismissed Taiwanese drone harassment accusations as "not worth fussing about."

In the same briefing, Ma Cheng-Kun, director of the military academy at the National Defense University, stated that China might take additional steps to deny passage of foreign naval vessels through the strait without its consent.

"After the new military normal status has been consolidated, then the risk of collision will increase if foreign naval ships insist on the rights of navigation and freedom," he stated.

John Kirby, the national security spokesperson for the White House, told reporters that the United States would not accept China's efforts to "permanently alter" Taiwan's status quo.

"The concerns expressed by leaders in Taiwan are understandable given the aggressive, assertive, coercive, and quite frankly, unnecessary, activities that the PRC continues to conduct from a military perspective in and around the Strait," Kirby said, referring to the People's Republic of China.

In recent years, U.S. and allied vessels, including those from Britain and Canada, have routinely transited the Taiwan Strait, including two U.S. Navy warships last week.

China's military forces outnumber Taiwan's, despite Taiwan's superior equipment. Tsai is in charge of a modernization program and has prioritized increasing defense spending.

China has not ruled out the use of force to seize control of the island. Taipei denies Beijing's sovereignty claims, stating that the People's Republic of China has never ruled the island and that only the Taiwanese people can determine the island's future.