Island authorities said 28 military aircraft were spotted near the coast of Taiwan on Sunday, most of them crossing the middle line of the strait.
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According to the Taiwanese Defense Ministry, 20 aircraft spotted on Sunday crossed the median line separating Taiwan from mainland China and entered the island’s air defense zone to the southeast and southwest.
The ministry also said Beijing was conducting “long-term training and exercises,” adding that it was monitoring the situation with patrol aircraft and ships.
Beijing considers the autonomous island part of its territory and could one day seize it by force.
Relations between Beijing and Taipei deteriorated in 2016 with the arrival of Tsai Ing-wen as president, with Beijing intensifying political and military pressure on the archipelago in recent years.
Military aircraft regularly conduct incursions into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Area (ADEZ).
The ADZ, which should not be confused with a country’s airspace, includes a much wider area in which any foreign aircraft is supposed to announce itself to local air authorities. The Adiz region of Taiwan overlaps with part of the Adiz region of China, and even includes part of the continent.
Last week, Taipei reported an increasing number of raids by Chinese aircraft and ships.
Beijing said its forces were on “high alert” after two US and Canadian ships passed through the Taiwan Strait earlier this month.
Between Wednesday and Thursday morning, Taipei said it had spotted 68 Chinese military aircraft and 10 ships.
These planes were heading to the western Pacific Ocean to join the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong as part of training, according to the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense.
Shandong is one of two active aircraft carriers in the Chinese fleet. It was discovered on Monday about 60 nautical miles (111 kilometers) southeast of the island’s southernmost point.
Beijing has not yet commented on these maneuvers.
In April, Beijing conducted military exercises simulating the encirclement of the island, after a meeting between the Taiwanese president and US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.
Taiwan then discovered 71 fighter jets in 24 hours, matching the record number set in December 2022.
