Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesperson Tan Kefei relayed on Tuesday that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) not only holds the capability but also the confidence to block and defeat attempts by external actors and forces to devise "Taiwan's independence". 

In a briefing, Tan said, "The Chinese army has the confidence and ability to thwart any external interference and separatist conspiracy aimed at Taiwan's independence," after reiterating that even though his country sticks to preserving stability and regional peace in the Taiwan Strait, force may be used if necessary. 

This comes as Taiwan’s Defense Ministry claimed the detection of 20 PLA aircraft and four vessels around the island at 6 am local time on Tuesday (22:00 GMT on Monday).

Read more: Impact of Taiwan crisis on world economy could be devastating: Blinken

'Intense competition' 

The tension between China and the US hit a new high following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, which in fact kept the whole world on its toes fearing a third world war.

"We're in intense competition... we don't want it to veer into conflict," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned.

August witnessed China launch its biggest military drills yet around the island, and war preparations have been escalating ever since on both sides. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted in August as well that "this once again demonstrates that some American politicians are destroyers of Sino-US relations, whereas the US has become the primary destroyer of peace and regional stability between the two shores of the Taiwan Strait."

On Saturday, the Pentagon revealed the B-21 raider as one of three weapon systems including silo-launched nuclear ballistic missiles and submarine-launched warheads, meant to advance warfare preparations against the "Chinese threat" keeping the US on its toes. 

In a statement, the Pentagon said last week of China's recent military developments that it has birthed "the most consequential and systemic challenge to US national security and the free and open international system."