Taiwan detects most Chinese military aircraft around island since election

China sent 33 military aircraft around Taiwan over a 24-hour period, the Defense Ministry in Taipei said Saturday, the most since the democratic island elected a new president less than two weeks ago.

The ministry said 13 of the aircraft, which it did not identify, had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait that once served as an unofficial boundary between the two sides. Seven navy vessels were also spotted operating around the island, while the ministry also said it had detected two Chinese balloons crossing the strait.

Taiwan’s military “monitored the situation … and employed aircraft, Navy vessels, and coastal missile systems in response to the detected activities,” the ministry said.