China's Military Sends 39 Warplanes, 3 Ships To Taiwan In Less Than 24 Hour

China's military sent 39 planes and three ships to Taiwan in a 24-hour show of force, Taiwan's defence ministry said on Thursday.

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, 30 Chinese planes crossed the median of the Taiwan Strait between 6 a.m. on Wednesday and 6 a.m. on Thursday, an unofficial boundary once tacitly accepted by both sides.

According to a diagram of the flight patterns provided by Taiwan, the planes flew to the island's southwest and then horizontally all the way to the southeastern side before doubling back.

There were 21 J-16 fighter jets, four H-6 bombers and two early-warning aircraft among the planes.

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

In response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, China's military conducted large-scale military exercises in August.

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.

China conducted its largest military exercises against Taiwan in decades, sailing ships and flying aircraft across the strait's median and even firing missiles over Taiwan that landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone.