In a large display of force, Beijing on Friday sent 38 fighter jets in two batches towards autonomous Taiwan to mark China’s National Day.
The first batch consisting of 25 jets flown by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) constituted of 18 J-16 fighter jets, 2 H-6 bombers, 4 Su-30 fighter jets plus an anti-submarine aircraft.
This was followed by a second wave of 13 Chinese aircraft in the same area on Friday evening. They flew over waters between Taiwan and the Philippines. This wave had 10 J-16s, 2 H-6s and an early warning aircraft, the Taiwan ministry said.
In its defence, the Taiwan government launched air patrol forces and deployed aircraft trackers to keep an eye on China’s jets through its air defence system, the island’s Defence Minister said in a statement.
"China has been wantonly engaged in military aggression, damaging regional peace," Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang told reporters on Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, China's latest mission came less than a day after its government launched an attack on Taiwan's foreign minister, evoking the words of revolutionary leader Mao Zedong to denounce him as "shrilling" flies for his efforts to promote Taiwan internationally.
Last year, Chinese military jets made a record 380 incursions into Taiwan's defence zone, and the number of incursions for the first nine months of this year has already exceeded 500. US warships regularly conduct "freedom of navigation" exercises in the waterway separating Taiwan and mainland China, triggering angry responses from Beijing.
China has stepped up military and political pressure to try and force Taiwan to accept Chinese sovereignty. Taiwan says it is an independent country and will defend its freedom and democracy.
