In a provocative show of force, China has launched live-fire military drills near Taiwan, warning vessels to steer clear of the area following a massive exercise last week that has left U.S. officials “seriously concerned.

The drills were the latest show of force by China, which claims Taiwan as its territory and has protested Western support for the island.

Taiwan’s imports of liquefied natural gas could be vulnerable if China someday imposed a blockade, the archipelago’s defense chief said — highlighting the concern Beijing’s military activity is raising in Taipei.

China employed a record 125 aircraft, as well as its Liaoning aircraft carrier and ships, in large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan and its outlying islands Monday, simulating the sealing off of key ports in a move that underscores the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait,