China’s president Xi Jinping has ramped up the country’s rhetoric about absorbing Taiwan back into the Chinese mainland but the independent island nation isn’t going without a fight.

The democratic nation of nearly 24 million people responded to China’s declared intention of diplomatic annexation by flexing its military muscle.

As Mr Xi delivered a speech over the New Year’s period, affirming the country’s desire to reclaim Taiwan’s territory as its own and not ruling out the use of force to achieve the goal, Taiwan released a videos showing off its supersonic missile system capable of warding off Chinese warships.

Taiwan’s Navy shared the video just hours before the Chinese president delivered his speech, in which he said Taiwan would enjoy peace and an independent system of governance under Beijing’s “one country, two systems” model.

At one point in the video, a Hsiung Feng-3 anti-ship missile is seen being launched from a Naval frigate — a pointed reminder of the country’s work to improve its ability to defend itself from attack in recent decades.

Thanks to its advanced radar system, the missile can penetrate an enemy ship’s defences when cruising at supersonic speeds of up to Mach 3.0, according to Asia Times.

In September it was revealed Taiwan had already begun work on a new ship-launched Hsiung Feng missile modelled after the design of the third generation model as it looks to boost its defences.

As Taiwan shows off its military might in the face of an emboldened Chinese neighbour, reports in the Taiwanese press also claim the island nation is pursuing a unique plan to boost its weapons aresenal.

According to reports, the Taiwan’s Chinese Academy of Sciences is reverse engineering old fighter jet engines in a bid to build a “simplified, improved” turbojet engine expected to go in a new cruise missile to deter Chinese military aggression.

China still sees democratic Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the country being ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949.

“Reunification is the historical trend and the right path,” Mr Xi said in his this week. “Taiwan independence is … a dead end.”

In response, Taiwan again rebuked China’s reunification rhetoric.

“If the Chinese Government cannot treat its own people kindly, cannot guarantee human rights and will not let its own people vote … then Taiwanese will look at China’s intent with suspicion,” Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The issue is considered a potentially dangerous source of conflict in the coming decades as China declares it is preparing for war.

Last month a Chinese military official told an audience at a conference held in Beijing that China should “be ready to take over Taiwan”.

The US has remained active in The Taiwan Strait to counteract China’s growing assertiveness. In a kind of diplomatic brinkmanship, both countries have been keen to project a show of force in the region, raising fears it could become a flashpoint for conflict.