TAIPEI—Taiwan is closely watching the situation in the narrow strait that separates it from China and raising its preparedness in response to what is happening with Ukraine, the government said on Saturday, though it added the two cases were very different. The Chinese regime has stepped up military activity near Taiwan over the past two years, though the self-governing island has reported no unusual maneuvers by Chinese forces in recent days as tensions over Ukraine have spiked. The Chinese communist regime claims the island as its own, despite the fact that Taiwan is a de facto independent country, with its own military, democratically-elected government, and constitution. As Western nations warn a war in Ukraine could ignite at any moment, Taiwan’s presidential office said the military continues to strengthen its surveillance operations, adding that regional peace and stability is “the shared responsibility of all parties.” “All military units continue to pay …