Gen. Kevin Schneider warned that the Chinese activities have increased dramatically since Taiwan’s new president was inaugurated in May.

Chinese business people may be able to find creative ways to avoid U.S. tariffs, but for Beijing, its concerns for the incoming Trump presidency go beyond trade.

The Chinese military increased flights near Taiwan by 300 percent in the last five months, Gen. Kevin Schneider, commander of the U.S. Air Forces in the Indo-Pacific Command, told NBC News in an exclusive interview on Friday.

The move from Beijing comes just a day after the Philippines signed two laws defining the country’s maritime zones

China rejected Philippine maritime claims on Sunday, saying new legislation "severely infringes on" Beijing's territorial sovereignty and rights in the South China Sea, and vowing to protect its own interests.

China has published baselines for a contested shoal in the South China Sea it had seized from the Philippines, a move that’s likely to increase tensions over overlapping territorial claims