Taiwan is on high alert in response to China’s unannounced deployment of naval and Coast Guard ships, as tensions rise over U.S. support for the island.

Lai Ching-te is looking to shore up support from three island nations that are among a dwindling number to keep diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

The president-elect’s call for Taiwan to spend more on its own defense and his complaints about its semiconductor dominance may herald a tenser relationship.

Foreign leaders have rushed to ingratiate themselves with Donald J. Trump in recent days, nervously recalling the clashes, insults and feuds of his first presidency.

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

China’s large-scale military exercises are encircling Taiwan and testing the island’s defenses. They also raise the risk of conflict, accidental or otherwise.

Scores of Chinese aircraft and dozens of ships surrounded Taiwan, after President Lai Ching-te rejected Beijing’s claim over the island.