More than 27 Chinese military planes flew into Taiwan's air defence zone on Tuesday, officials in Taipei said, as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi concluded her controversial visit to the self-ruled island that Beijing considers its territory.
As per the information received, the Chinese fleet included six J-11 fighter jets, five J-16 fighter jets and 16 SU-30 fighter jets.
"27 PLA aircraft (J-11*6, J-16*5 and SU-30*16) entered the surrounding area of R.O.C. on August 3, 2022," Taiwan's defence ministry said in a statement on Twitter
As a countermeasure, Taiwan also dispatched its own fighter jets and deployed air defence missiles, the ministry said in a statement.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who visited the island nation on Tuesday took off from Songshan airport, ending her visit of less than 24 hours.
China had warned that it will hold a series of live-fire military drills in the air and sea around the island from Thursday.
Taiwan says the move violates the island's sovereignty, and amounts to a blockade.
Further, irked by Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, China on Wednesday halted trade with Taiwan and said it is suspending imports of citrus fruits and fish products from Taipei.
This is a developing story.
(To receive our E-paper on WhatsApp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
