Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai said on Tuesday that a "return" to China is not an option for the island's 23 million people, after Chinese President Xi Jinping pressed his country's sovereignty claims in a call with U.

The remarks come amid the two countries’ worst diplomatic crisis in years, after the Japanese prime minister said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

Chinese ships and aircraft monitored the Aotearoa, with Chinese jets carrying out simulated attacks. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

China warned on Wednesday it would "crush" any foreign attempts to interfere over Taiwan, after Japan announced plans to deploy missiles on an island near democratically-governed Taiwan.

President Trump spoke with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week, and the Chinese government said Xi outlined what it called China’s "principled" position on Taiwan. The self-governing democracy of 23 million has never been part of Communist China,

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As China reportedly mulls a ban on Japanese seafood amid a standoff between the Asian neighbors, Taiwan's leader shows support for Tokyo, with his lunch.

Current law requires elected officials to prove they renounced their former citizenship – which is impossible for those born on the mainland.