TAIPEI: China insisted on Monday it would never renounce the `use of force` to take control of Taiwan, after ending a day of military drills around the selfruled island that Beijing said was a `stern warning` to `separatist` forces.

Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its own territory, deployed fighter jets, drones, warships and coast guard vessels to encircle the island in its fourth round of large-scale war games in just over two years.

The United States said China`s actions were `unwarranted` and risked `escalation` as it called on Beijing to act with restraint.

China declared the drills over at around 6pm, about 13 hours after they had begun. `We sincerely strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification, but we will never promise to renounce the use of force and will not leave any space for `Taiwan independence`,` Ministry of National Defence spokesperson Wu Qian said soon after.

The exercises, dubbed Joint Sword-2024B, `fully tested the integrated joint operation capabilities of its troops`, military spokesperson Captain Li Xi said in a statement.

President Lai Ching-te, who took office in May, has been more outspoken than his predecessor Tsai Ingwen in defending Taiwan`s sovereignty, angering Beijing, which calls him a `separatist`.

Lai vowed on Monday to `protect democratic Taiwan and safeguard national security`, while the defence ministry said it had dispatched `appropriate forces` in response to the drills.

Taiwan detected 125 Chinese aircraft, including fighter jets and drones from early morning to late afternoon, a defence ministry official said, describing it as a record for a single day. Seventeen warships were also spotted. Outlying islands administered by Taipei had been put on `heightened alert`, Taiwan`s defence ministry said.-AFP