President Donald Trump brushed off China’s latest round of large-scale military exercises around Taiwan, telling reporters "nothing worries me" and describing Beijing’s activity as longstanding — comments that landed as Taiwan put its forces on alert and Beijing framed the drills as a warning to “external” powers.

China launched 10 hours of live-firing exercises around Taiwan on Tuesday, the second day of Beijing's largest-ever war games around the island, aimed at swiftly cutting its links to outside support in the event of a conflict.

China’s military has launched 10 hours of live-fire exercises around Taiwan, as US President Donald Trump played down the seriousness of the latest large-scale manoeuvres. “They’ve been doing naval exercises for 20 years in that area,” Trump said. “Now people take it a little bit differently.”

China said on Tuesday it would "never hesitate to combat separatism" as it held a second day of war games around Taiwan, describing the drills it calls "Justice Mission 2025" as a warning against independence and foreign interference.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude-6.6 earthquake hit Taiwan just off its northeast coast late Saturday. The earthquake took place at 11:05 p.m. local time, 20 miles from the coastal town of Yilan. Tremors were felt across the island, including in the capital of Taipei, where buildings shook from the shock.

In a conflict, Taipei’s fate would become quickly intertwined with the U.S.-Japan security alliance.