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 reported incursion to date.
Of the aircraft, 43 also crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line, an unofficial buffer between the two sides that lies within the defense zone, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said in a report, as Beijing continues military activities close to 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 alarm on the island, which has witnessed a steady increase in Chinese pressure in recent years, Reuters reported.
China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, said it had conducted "strike drills" in the sea and airspace around Taiwan on Sunday in response to what it said was provocation from the democratically governed island and the United States.
Taiwan, which strongly rejects China's sovereignty claims, said the drills showed Beijing was destroying regional peace and trying to intimidate Taiwan's people.
The office of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said Tsai will call a high-level national security meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss reinforcing the island's civil defense system, followed by a press conference on new civil defense measures.
The statement gave no details, but the defense ministry has said it was considering extending compulsory military service beyond four months, as the war in Ukraine and rising tensions with Beijing renewed discussion about how to respond to Chinese military pressure.
"The more preparations we make, the less likely there will be rash attempts of aggression. The more united we are, the stronger and safer Taiwan would become," Tsai told a military ceremony on Monday.
