China Sends 71 Warplanes, 7 Ships To Taiwan In 24 Hours

47 Chinese planes flew across the Taiwan Strait's median, an unofficial boundary once tacitly accepted by both sides.

China's military dispatched 71 planes and seven ships to Taiwan in a 24-hour show of force directed at the Island, Taiwan's defence ministry said on Monday.

China showed aggression after expressing displeasure with Taiwan-related provisions in a US annual defence spending bill passed on Saturday.

China's military harassment of self-ruled Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory, has increased in recent years, with the Communist Party's People's Liberation Army sending planes or ships to the island almost daily.

According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence, 47 Chinese planes crossed the median of the Taiwan Strait between 6 a.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday (local time), an unofficial boundary once tacitly accepted by both sides.

China dispatched 18 J-16 fighter jets, 11 J-1 fighters, 6 Su-30 fighters and drones to Taiwan.

Taiwan said it tracked Chinese movements using land-based missile systems as well as navy vessels.

“This is a firm response to the current escalation and provocation between the United States and Taiwan,” Shi Yi, spokesman for the PLA's Eastern Theater Command, said late Sunday night. The PLA announced joint combat patrols and joint strike drills in the waters surrounding Taiwan.

Yi was referring to the US defence spending bill, which references China as a strategic challenge. Concerning the Indo-Pacific region, the legislation authorises increased security cooperation with Taiwan and calls for increased cooperation with India on emerging defence technologies, readiness and logistics.

In response to US government actions in support of Taiwan, China's military has frequently used large military exercises as a show of force. 

In response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August, it conducted large-scale live-fire military exercises. Foreign government visits to the island are viewed by Beijing as de facto recognition of the island's independence and a challenge to China's claim of sovereignty.