A real Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be an act of war and have far-reaching consequences for international trade, Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Wednesday after drills by China last week practiced such a scenario.

Taiwan's government offered rare details on Tuesday of its wartime food plan, saying it is taking monthly inventories of crucial supplies like rice and making sure they are properly stored across the island in case of a Chinese blockade.

TAIPEI >> Taiwan’s government offered rare details on Tuesday of its wartime food plan, saying it is taking monthly inventories of crucial supplies like rice and making sure they are properly stored across the island in case of a Chinese blockade.

The drills were the latest show of force by China, which claims Taiwan as its territory and has protested Western support for the island.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — China held live-fire drills off the coast of its southern Fujian province facing Taiwan, just a week after a massive air-and-sea drill it described as punishment for Taiwan’s president rejecting Beijing’s claims of sovereignty.

Taiwan's defence ministry said on Tuesday that live fire Chinese drills in a province facing the island are part of routine annual drills but also possibly part of China's "deterrence effect" in the waters of the Taiwan Strait.