China is carrying out large-scale development of air and naval sites along its eastern coast, which experts say could be used to launch an invasion of Taiwan.

China's fortified outpost on Subi Reef, one of its largest man-made islands in the South China Sea, is revealed in sharp detail in a new satellite image that shows expanded infrastructure on the disputed shoal.

Taiwan's government sees a massive military parade in Beijing commemorating the end of World War II as another example of military intimidation of the island that China claims as its own.

Taiwan accused China on Monday of squandering the equivalent of 2% of its entire defence budget to commemorate the end of World War Two as this year's 80th anniversary fuels a bitter battle of narratives between Beijing and Taipei.

China's newest aircraft carrier has sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the navy said Friday. The body of water separates China from Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing says must come under its control.