Taiwan's defence ministry said on Friday that the history of World War Two shows aggression and expansion will end in failure, responding to Chinese comments that the island would come into Beijing's hands sooner or later.

China is flexing its military muscle in the region to show that it will not wait for the Trump administration to decide how hard it wants to counter Beijing.

The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said in a statement said 45 Chinese aircraft and 14 warships have been seen. This is China's largest military presence near Taiwan so far this year.

The U.S. government has quietly unfrozen about $870 million in security assistance programs for Taiwan, according to two officials familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to speak publicly.

China said on Wednesday that Taiwan was seeking to give away the island's semiconductor industry to the United States as a "souvenir" and leverage it to seek political support from Washington.

Taiwan said it detected 45 Chinese aircraft near the self-ruled island, the highest number this year and a tally that comes a day after Taipei condemned China's "live-fire" drills off the south.

China Thursday questioned the existence of Taiwan's Defense Ministry following reports from Taiwan that over 40 military aircraft were detected Thursday around Taiwan. “How come the Taiwan region has a ‘Ministry of National Defense’?

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday declined to comment in response to a question about whether the United States would ever allow China to take control of Taiwan by force.

China has accused Taiwan of trying to sell off its thriving semiconductor industry to the United States, claiming that Taipei is essentially handing over control of