More than 100 Chinese fighter jets and a handful of warships were detected near Taiwan in the past 24 hours, its military said Monday, representing a steep escalation in the number of sorties Beijing has sent to the self-governing island.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said in a statement that the 103 fighter jets and nine ships were detected around its island within the 24 hours ending 6 a.m. Monday.
Forty of the aircraft had either crossed the median line that stands as a de facto border between China and Taiwan in the Taiwan Strait or its air defense identification zone, it said.
Beijing lays claim to Taiwan despite the island having never been part of the People Republic of China, which was founded in 1949.
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