Taiwan’s government announced today (9/12) that its armed forces have been put on “high” alert after China imposed wide-ranging air restrictions off the island’s east coast.

China’s armed forces imposed “seven restricted airspace zones in areas east of Zhejiang and Fujian,” two Chinese provinces facing Taiwan, the defense ministry said in a statement.

These restrictions, he added, will be valid from today until the day after tomorrow, Wednesday.

Taipei also announced that it had detected dozens of Chinese ships near the Taiwan Strait and the Pacific Ocean and added that it had begun “preparations for battle.”

In its statement, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said it was conducting “preparation maneuvers for combat that takes into account enemy threats, meteorological conditions and tactical deployments’.

Chinese air traffic restrictions and Taipei’s “battle preparation manoeuvres” come days after Taiwanese President Lai Tsing-te concluded a Pacific tour that was angrily condemned by Beijing.

China considers Taiwan province of what just remains to reunite with the mainland after the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. It has never ruled out resorting to violence to achieve this goal.

The tour of Mr. Lai’s trip to the Pacific was his first overseas trip since taking office in May. He made two “stopovers” — as Taipei calls its leaders’ informal visits to the US territory — in Hawaii and Guam.

Beijing opposes any official contact between the island’s authorities and those of foreign countries, as part of the “one China” policy.