Seventy-one Chinese air force aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone in the past 24 hours, the island’s government said on Monday, the largest such incursion ever.
The incursion involved 43 Chinese aircraft that crossed the center line of the Taiwan Strait, an informal buffer between the two sides located within the defense zone, Taiwan’s defense ministry said in a report, as Beijing is accused of Chinese-claimed Continues military activities close to the island.
Taiwan’s official Central News Agency said it was the largest Chinese air force incursion ever, although there was no sense of danger on the island, which has seen a steady increase in Chinese pressure in recent years.
China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, said it had conducted “strike drills” in the sea and airspace around Taiwan on Sunday in response to provocations from the democratically-ruled island and the United States.
Taiwan, which strongly rejects China’s claims to sovereignty, said the exercise showed Beijing was destroying regional peace and trying to intimidate Taiwanese people.
Some Chinese aircraft, mostly fighter jets, briefly crossed the median line in the sensitive Taiwan Strait before returning to China, according to a map provided by Taiwan’s Defense Ministry. Seven Chinese naval ships have also been detected near Taiwan, the ministry said.