Until 6:00, the island’s authorities detected 24 planes and five Chinese ships around the island, the Ministry said in a statement.
Eleven planes crossed the median line, an unofficial demarcation between China and Taiwan, not recognized by Beijing, “and entered the Air Defense Identification Zone [Adiz] of the southwest and north”, said the same source.
This is Beijing’s biggest show of force around the island since the presidential elections in Taiwan on January 13, according to the France-Presse news agency.
The Taiwanese elected William Lai Ching-te, from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), as President, who promised to protect the territory from “threats and intimidation” from China.
Beijing, which considers Taiwan Chinese territory, has described William Lai as a dangerous separatist.
Two days after the elections, Nauru, a small Pacific nation of 12,500 inhabitants, announced the severing of diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which it now recognizes “as an inalienable part of Chinese territory”.
Taiwanese authorities report almost daily incursions by Chinese army planes, which carried out major military maneuvers around the island last year.
In September, China deployed 103 planes to the zone around Taiwan in the space of 24 hours, which Taipei described as a record.
