This year’s military exercises, unprecedented in length and scale, are designed to prepare people for the prospect of Chinese troops storming Taiwan’s shores.

Taiwan does not seek conflict with China and will not provoke confrontation, but Beijing's "aggressive" military posturing is counterproductive, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim said on Friday. China considers democratic Taiwan as part of its own territory and calls President Lai Ching-te a "separatist".

"Aggressive military posturing is counterproductive and deprives the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait of opportunities to pursue an agenda of growth and prosperity," she said.