Taiwan’s Defence Ministry detected 70 Chinese military aircraft and 11 naval ships around Taiwan by 6 am on Monday and its armed forces were monitoring the situation to respond to these activities.

“70 PLA aircraft and 11 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities,” Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said in a tweet. “35 of the detected aircraft(SU-30*8, J-11*4, J-10*6, J-16*8, TB-001 UCAV, Y-9EW, Y-8 ASW, J-15*4, CH-4 UCAV, KJ-500 AEW&C) had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest and southeast ADIZ, flight paths as illustrated,” it added.

China entered the third day of the drills, which kickstarted on Saturday (April 8), right after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen returned from the US where she met House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a meeting to which China strictly showed opposition.

Al Jazeera reported that the declaration was made on Sunday as Taiwan’s defence ministry said that it had discovered numerous Chinese air force sorties and was keeping an eye on Beijing’s missile forces.

Taiwan, on Sunday, tracked 71 Chinese military aircraft, and 9 naval ships by 6 am. “45 of the detected aircraft(SU-30*8, J-11*4, J-10*16, J-16*10, TB-001 UCAV, Y-9EW, Y-8 ASW, H-6K*2, Y-20, KJ-500) had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ, flight paths as illustrated,” the Ministry said.

China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, began three days of military exercises around the island on Saturday, the day after President Tsai Ing-wen returned to Taipei from Los Angeles, where she met with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Meanwhile, Taiwan also lodged a protest against Chinese military drills around Taiwan, saying that the country would not yield to threats.

Taking to Twitter, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence said, “#Taiwan is our homeland, and no matter where we go or what we encounter, she is always charming and beautiful. Every story on this land is etched in our memories. We, #ROCArmedForces, are fighting with all our heart to defend our homeland and to protect our home together.”

Tensions between China and Taiwan escalated after the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi travelled to the country in August last year. China raised objections to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory.

This time, Taiwan retaliated by sending aircraft, naval boats, and land-based missiles to observe PLA planes and ships.