Seventy-one Chinese air force aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, have entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone in the past 24 hours, the island’s government announced Monday, the largest reported incursion to date.
The incursion involved 43 Chinese aircraft crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial buffer between the two sides that lies in the defense zone, Taiwan’s defense ministry said in a report, as Beijing continues military activities near the Chinese-claimed island.
Taiwan’s official Central News Agency said it was the largest Chinese air force incursion to date, although there was no sense of fear on the island, which has seen a steady increase in Chinese pressure in recent years.
China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, said it conducted “strike drills” in the sea and airspace around Taiwan on Sunday in response to what it said was a provocation by the democratically-ruled island and the United States.
Taiwan, which strongly rejects China’s sovereignty claims, said the exercises showed Beijing was destroying regional peace and trying to intimidate the Taiwanese people.
According to a map provided by Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, some of the Chinese planes, mostly fighter jets, briefly crossed the median line in the sensitive Taiwan Strait before returning to China. Seven Chinese navy ships were also detected off Taiwan, the ministry said.
China’s military also sent early warning, electronic warfare and anti-submarine aircraft, as well as drones, to Taiwan’s Southern Air Defense Identification Zone, or ADIZ, according to the report, which details Chinese activities near Taiwan in the 24 hours to 6: 00 (2200 GMT on Sunday).
Taipei has complained about repeated Chinese air force missions over the past two years, often in the southern areas of its ADIZ. Taiwan sent unspecified fighter jets to warn the Chinese planes while missile systems monitored their flight, the ministry said, using standard wording for its response.
In recent years, China has stepped up its diplomatic, military and economic pressure on the self-governing island to accept Beijing’s rule. Taiwan’s government says it wants peace, but will defend itself if attacked.
