China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the island to accept its sovereignty claims,

It is “absolutely impossible” for Communist China to become Taiwan’s motherland because the island’s government is older, Taiwan’s president has said in a carefully timed speech that underscores the intense historical rivalry between the two.

China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said.