China will never commit to renouncing the use of force over Taiwan, the government in Beijing said on Wednesday after another bout of war games and a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the scene of a famous defeat for Taiwanese forces.

Scores of Chinese aircraft and dozens of ships surrounded Taiwan, after President Lai Ching-te rejected Beijing’s claim over the island.

Thousands of US and Filipino troops launched joint exercises in the northern and western Philippines on Tuesday, after China held huge drills around Taiwan and a Chinese vessel collided with