Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Saturday it had detected 22 Chinese planes around the island in less than three hours.
“We detected activities of 22 PLA planes [armée chinoise] […] since 9:30 a.m.,” the ministry said in a statement issued at 12:10 p.m. local time on Saturday.
“Twelve aircraft crossed the median line and entered the air defense identification zone of northern and central Taiwan,” it added, specifying that the warplanes and drones had joined the ships of the Chinese navy as part of a “joint combat patrol”.
These outings come less than a month before the inauguration, on May 20, of the new Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te, whom China considers a dangerous separatist.
The median line bisects the Taiwan Strait, a narrow 180-kilometer sea lane separating the island from mainland China.
Beijing, which does not recognize this line, claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has never renounced the use of force to place the island under its control.
Under the administration of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, tensions between Beijing and Taipei have increased, as she and her government reject any Chinese claims on the island.
His deputy, Vice President Lai, won January’s presidential elections despite warnings from Beijing that he would provoke Taiwan’s “war and decline.”
Saturday’s display of military power comes as the United States and the Philippines conduct joint military exercises, including near potential flashpoints in the South China Sea and the island of Taiwan.
The joint exercises include a simulated recapture of enemy-occupied islands in areas facing Taiwan.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite an international ruling that there is no legal basis for the claim.
Recent clashes between Chinese and Philippine ships have reignited fears of a wider conflict. China’s Foreign Ministry accused the United States of “stoking military confrontation.”