To help her cope with the increase in covid-19 cases, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen on Sunday offered to provide "necessary assistance" to China, but said that China's military activities near the island would not serve peace and stability in the region.

In a surprise policy shift, China last month began abandoning a lockdown and intensive testing policy described as the most stringent in the world to contain the pandemic. The shift means covid-19 is spreading largely unchecked and international health experts have said the virus could infect millions of people every day.

In her traditional New Year message delivered at the presidential office, Tsai said that everyone has seen the dramatic increase in the number of covid cases in China. China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and has stepped up its military pressure to confirm this.

"As long as there is a need and given the humanitarian care situation, we are ready to provide the necessary assistance to help more people overcome the pandemic and enjoy a healthy and safe new year,"the president of Taiwan said without going into details.

Taiwan and China have repeatedly bickered over each other's measures to control the spread of covid.

China has criticized Taiwan for its ineffective management of the pandemic after a surge in local infections last year, while Taiwan has accused China of a lack of transparency and trying to interfere with vaccine supplies to Taiwan, which Beijing has denied.

Taiwan's president reiterated her call for dialogue with China and said war was not an option to solve problems.

In his new year's address, Chinese President Xi Jinping briefly referred to Taiwan, saying people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are "members of one family" and made no mention of seeking to bring the island under Chinese control.

Shortly after Tsai's speech, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said that over the past twenty-four hours 12 Chinese military aircraft had crossed the dividing line of the Taiwan Strait, which previously served as an unofficial buffer zone between the two sides.

Tsai has repeatedly stressed her desire to hold talks with China and reach peace, but has made it clear that Taiwan will defend itself if attacked and that only its 23 million people can decide their own future.