FEATURE | China fires rockets and deploys assault ships off Taiwan on day two of its largest-ever war games

International carriers were making heavy use of two air corridors left open by China to the island's northeast heading towards Japan, according to Li Hanming, a US-based aviation analyst.

Fourteen Chinese Coast Guard vessels continued to sail around Taiwan's contiguous zone on Tuesday, some of which were engaged in standoffs with Taiwanese vessels, a Taiwan coast guard official told Reuters.

"We adopted a one-to-one parallel navigation approach, closely shadowing each other's routes," the official said, adding that Taiwan had also employed "wave-making and manoeuvring techniques" to force the Chinese vessels to retreat.

The defence ministry said 130 Chinese military aircraft and 22 navy and coastguard vessels had been operating around the island in the 24 hours up to 06:00. Chinese newspapers also highlighted the first deployment of the Type 075 amphibious assault ship.

Zhang Chi, an academic at China's National Defence University, said the vessel can simultaneously launch attack helicopters, landing-craft, amphibious tanks and armoured vehicles.