Taiwan on Thursday condemned recent Chinese military activity after Beijing sent two military surveillance planes toward the island for three straight days, calling it a "deliberate provocation."
Tensions have risen in the Taiwan Strait as the US has stepped up its official engagement with the self-ruled island that China considers part of its national territory.
On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, China sent two planes into Taiwan's air defense identification zone, according to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense. In response, the Taiwanese side dispatched air patrols, the ministry said.
"We oppose China using military force against Taiwan, deliberately violating Taiwan's naval and airspace safety and damaging the status quo," added Chiu Chui-Cheng, deputy minister at Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council.
"Our government will continue to cooperate with countries with similar values." Last week, China sent a total of 37 warplanes, including bombers and fighter jets, across the Taiwan Strait in a warning as a high-level U.S. State Department official visited the island.
The Taiwanese defense ministry said the planes crossed the midline of the Taiwan Strait.
The midline has acted as an unofficial buffer zone between China and Taiwan for decades, in what Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council on Thursday called "a tacit agreement that has kept the peace."
