*BEIJING:* Chinese aircraft have again flown around self-ruled Taiwan inwhat China’s air force on Thursday called a “sacred mission”.

Taiwan, claimed by Beijing as Chinese territory, is one of China’s mostsensitive issues and a potential military flashpoint. China has ramped upmilitary exercises around Taiwan in the past year, including flying bombersand other military aircraft around the island.

More recently, China has been incensed by comments by Taiwan PremierWilliam Lai that it deemed were in support of Taiwan independence, thoughTaipei says Lai’s position remains that the status quo between Taiwan andthe mainland should be maintained.

In a statement on its microblog, the Chinese air force said H-6K bombershad “recently” flown a patrol around Taiwan.

“The motherland is in our hearts, and the jewelled island is in the bosomof the motherland,” an H-6K captain, Zhai Peisong, was quoted as saying inthe statement, using another name for Taiwan.

“Defending the beautiful rivers and mountains of the motherland is thesacred mission of air force pilots.”

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said two Chinese H-6K bombers had flown aroundthe island on Wednesday afternoon, passing first through the Miyako Strait,to Taiwan’s northeast, then back to base via the Bashi Channel betweenTaiwan and the Philippines.

Late on Wednesday, Chinese state media said the military had also conductedlive-fire military drills with helicopters along its southeast coast afterincreasingly stern warnings by Beijing for Taiwan to toe the line, thoughthe exercises were more low key than had been flagged in state media.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said the island’s “independence separatistactivities” were the biggest threat to peace and stability in the TaiwanStrait.

“No force and no person should underestimate our resolute resolve andstrong ability to defend the nation’s sovereignty and territorialintegrity,” the office said.

China had said the live-fire drills would happen on Wednesday off the cityof Quanzhou, in between two groups of islands close to China’s coast butwhich Taiwan has controlled since 1949, when defeated Nationalist forcesfled to the island at the end of the Chinese civil war.

Chinese state media has said the drills were a direct response to“provocations” by Taiwan leaders related to what China fears are moves bythe island to push for formal independence.

The latest Chinese military movements come during a time of heightenedtension between Beijing and the island and follows strong warnings byChinese President Xi Jinping against any Taiwan separatism last month.

China’s hostility towards Taiwan has grown since Tsai Ing-wen from thepro-independence Democratic Progressive Party won a presidential electionon the island in 2016.

China fears she wants to push for independence. Tsai says she is committedto peace and maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, but willdefend Taiwan’s security.

Setting aside the tension with China, Tsai began a visit to the southernAfrican nation of Swaziland on Wednesday, one of only 20 countries whichmaintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. – Agencies