Taipei: Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) reported on Thursday that a significant number of Chinese military aircraft were observed near Taiwan on Wednesday, as part of a “joint combat readiness patrol” drill conducted by China.

According to Focus Taiwan, the drill involved both China’s Air Force and Navy, with 20 out of the 34 aircraft detected participating in the exercise. The MND indicated that 16 of these aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, a line traditionally regarded as a boundary between Taiwan and China since the late 1950s. Additionally, 11 aircraft crossed the extension of this line. The median line, however, has been frequently crossed by Chinese military aircraft since 2022.

The activity of Chinese warplanes was detected between 6 a.m. and 7:20 p.m. on Wednesday. Alongside the aerial maneuvers, the MND also detected eight Chinese military vessels and one additional ship within the 24-hour window starting at 6 a.m. Wednesday.

The MND assured that it had been vigilantly monitoring the developments and responded to the perceived threats by deploying combat air patrol aircraft and coastal missile systems. This incident marks the 14th joint combat readiness patrol drill conducted by the Chinese military this year, with three such drills occurring in April alone.